Honeybee
by Pinzzz
Summary: The story evolves around a young 18 year old teenager named, Cronus Ampora, who is known to be a troublemaker and cares only about himself. But everything changes the moment he meets Mituna Captor: A mentally disabled high-school sophomore and a person he never expected to ever have such a big influence on his life.
1. Chapter 1: Pretty Wicked Things

It was the first of September, as students of all ages were forced out of their summer afterglow to make their way towards the yellow school buses.

In a small town stood a tall male by a rusty worn down bus stop. He was dressed in torn up jeans, a leather jacket and combat boots giving him a very 90's kind of look. Yet his thick, black hair, covered in hair gel made him resemble a 50's greaser. Leaning against the rusty, red bus stop, he dove his hands into the pockets of his leather, while casually puffing out smoke from his cigarette. As soon as the bus arrived, he dropped the smoke and entered the vehicle, ignoring the glare he received from the bus driver. In the back of the bus was a small group of aggressive looking teenagers. A tall and slim girl with short, black hair and two long braids in the back of her head smiled sarcastically towards the boy.

- Well look who the cat dragged in. – she said, leaning in and tossing an arm on the blue seat in front of her. – Decided not to take your bike to school?

Covering most of her round face were short, dark bangs and a pair of neon pink glasses.

- Good to see you too, Meenah. – replied the boy grinning back at her with the equal amount of sarcasm in his voice. – Because somebody thought it would be a brilliant idea to jump off the fucking molo on the beach, it's at the repair shop.

That said he glanced over to another shaggy-haired boy sitting in a two person seat, sprawling out his long, thin legs over both of the seats. He chuckled cheerfully with his arms crossed on his chest and a goofy smile on his lips.

- I said I was sorry, bro. I paid for the repairs. Don't be hatin a brother cause he got a little drunk.

- You weren't ,,a little drunk", Kurloz. You were fucking shitfaced. – said the boy slightly irritated about his friends ignorance. It was his 16-th birthday present after all. Another boy sitting next to Meenah by the window groaned covering his tanned face.

- Cronus, just shut the fuck up. Be happy he paid for it at all.

Meenah grinned widely at him making a sound that imitated an annoyed cat indicated towards the boy.

- Hung over maybe, Rufioh?

He ran his fingers through his red and black mohawk and glared darkly at the girl.

- Yes I am, thanks to you. – he said slumping down in his seat. – Cause having a fucking party a day before the beginning of the school year is just genius.

Meenah snorted amused.

- Oh, please. I didn't heard you complain. In fact, you were the first one to get drunk.

Rufioh huffed, not in the mood to be receiving embarrassing reminders of yesterdays party and decided to flip her off without a word. This caused the girl to burst out laughing and ruffle his spiky hair.

It didn't take long for the bus to arrive to the school district. Once all 4 of them stepped off the bus, waiting for them by the entrance was a girl. She turned her head sharply and smiled widely at them. She had long, wavy brown hair and was dressed in a green sweater and short black skirt.

- Kurloz! – he squealed and ran up to the shaggy-haired boy, jumping into his arms.

- Meulin, baby! – he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist and doing a few twirls, both giggling like little children.

- For the love of God, save the cheesy reunion for when I'm not here. – grimaced Cronus, tossing his military backpack over his shoulder and placing a toothpick between his teeth.

The girl smiled at the cranky teenager thoughtfully.

- Aw, you want a hug too? – she said holding out her arms.

Cronus smiled slightly.

- I would, doll. But not with your boyfriend hovering behind you.

- Smart choice. – smiled Kurloz with his hands in the pockets of his baggy jeans.

Meulin laughed punching the shoulder of her boyfriend lightly and grabbed her green backpack.

- Have you guys heard the news? There's gonna be a new kid in our school.

Cronus walking beside Meulin and Kurloz shrugged his shoulders.

- Yeah, Meulin. That happens every year, when people enter first grade. – he said sarcastically.

I wasn't finished yet. – she said glancing at Cronus with a mischievous look in her lime green eyes. – Supposedly he's mentally handicapped, yet I don't understand why a person like that would go to a normal school.

- That depends. – answered Kurloz. – If he will be receiving assistance from someone.

Cronus snorted, playing around with the toothpick in his teeth.

- Oh my god, he's so screwed.

Meulin looked up at him questionably.

- What do you mean? Maybe he'll be nice.

- Well maybe he will. – he started. – But that won't stop the other kids from picking on the poor guy for being a retard.

The dark-haired girl sighed sadly.

- Oh … that's right.

Before the conversation could carry on, the bell rang and everyone hurried to their classrooms. Cronus walked the back of the class and sat in the final seat by the window. The last thing he wanted was his homeroom teacher to be on his ass for being such a disappointment. Once everyone was seated a familiar short-haired girl with pink glasses sat in the seat next to him and smiled.

- Well I'll be darned. – he said leaning back in his chair with his legs on his desk. – I wonder what made you transfer to my class.

The girl huffed pushing up her glasses.

- Somebody's got to keep an eye on you. – she said suggestively.

Suddenly the teacher entered the classroom and everyone ceased their conversations. The tall, tired looking man sat down in the office chair, resting his arms on the metal surface of the desk.

- I hope you all enjoyed your summer, cause starting this semester you'll be working like dogs. – he said dryly. He was never a fan of his class. – Well then let's start with your schedule.

He passed around the class a sheet of paper containing everyone's timetable. After that, he spent the rest of the hour spewing bullshit about text books, after school classes, responsibilities and how much of a failure everyone was to him. Once the bell rang everyone ran out of the classroom, not even checking twice if the teacher finished his monologue. Cronus slowly followed behind Meenah, when he was stopped by the teacher.

- Cronus, just so you know. Now that your in senior year and all. The punishments will be harsher. Just to give you a heads up. – said the teacher smiling proudly.

Cronus grinned back with the equal amount of hate.

- Good to know, Mr. Hussie.

Once the stare showdown was over, Cronus walked out of the room into the hallway.

- So. – began Meenah. – I'm getting the vibe that you dislike each other.

- You guessed right, baby doll. – he said wrapping an arm around Meenah's neck. – Ever since I ,,accidently" did a graffiti paint job on his car in freshman year, the fucker hated my guts more than his job. – he said priggish.

- Well, well. Your quite the naughty boy, aren't you? – purred Meenah moving closer under his arm .

- I thought you like naughty boys. – grinned Cronus and turned around to face Meenah, pressing her against the lockers.

- I never said I didn't. – she replied. – But sometimes you don't know your place.

- Oh, really?

Cronus leaned in closer to the girl, till their faces were millimeters apart.

- Are you implying that I need to be tamed?

Meenah chuckled and took a handful of his shirt in her hands pulling him closer. – You could use a firm hand once in a while.

Cronus closed in on her red lips, licking and biting them, till she opened her mouth, granting him entrance.

- Meenah?! – squealed a voice behind them.

Cronus irritated by the sudden interruption, turned around to glare at the person. It was a short girl with ginger hair, freckles on her rosy cheeks and white-framed glasses on her nose.

- You were supposed to meet me by the library, exactly after the bell rang! – she growled.

- Shit, sorry Aranea. – said Meenah, slipping out of Cronus's arms.

Following Aranea, Meenah turned around to glance at the pissed off greaser and wave her fingers at him.

- See you around. – she smiled widely.

Once they disappeared, Cronus grabbed his bag, face burning red from fury and turned around to walked to the exit.

- Aranea that fucking bitch. Ruining a perfect make out session. – he sneered through his teeth.

Walking in a fast pace and not paying attention to his surroundings, he slammed into another student and flew back on his ass.

- God fucking damn it! – he growled rubbing his ass from the sudden collision. – Watch where your going, asshole!

He looked ahead to see the person he collided with still on the floor, groaning silently. He felt there was something off about this guy. He other individual slowly lifted himself up with both hands on the floor to keep balance. The boy had very fluffy, black hair and dark freckles covering his nose and cheeks. He was wearing a neon yellow and black jumpsuit, which intensity practically burned Cronus's eyes. Yet, for some reason he was intrigued by his face. When he looked up at Cronus, he reveled his striking dual colored eyes, which was a sight Cronus has never seen before. One was a light blue, the other tinted cherry-red. Cronus puzzled couldn't help, but stare at his distinctive face. He heard footsteps approaching from afar.

- Minuta! – yelled a dark-haired girl with red sunglasses.

She ran up to him, kneeling down beside him, removing the glasses from her face and placing them on the top of her head. – Are you alright?! You shouldn't run so fast!

She turned her head to face Cronus. Her eyes had an amazing turquoise color.

- I'm so sorry. He tends to not pay attention to his surroundings. Please forgive him.

Cronus stared at her confused and lost, not sure what to say. Telling her to keep her friend on a leash wouldn't cut it.

- Um, it's … fine? – he said and got up.

The girl grabbed the boys shoulders and shook him slightly.

- 'Tuna, are you ok? Respond if you can hear me.

- Latula, I'm fine. – he said. – Just a little sore.

Cronus smiled to himself. The girl just made her friend sound like a retard, yet he looks pretty normal to him. Suddenly Mituna's facial expression changed from serene to rabid, as he turned his head sharply and glared at Cronus. The greaser furrowed his eyebrows at the sudden change of nature.

- Next time watch where your going you stupid, fucking, bag of douche! – he yelled.

For a split second Cronus was bewildered, but collected himself and frowned back at him.

- Who are you calling a bag of douche?! Last time I checked it was YOU, who ran into ME.

Mituna started shacking from rage and quickly got up from the floor.

- You can kiss my ass, faggot! – he yelled and shot up his middle finger.

Cronus has never been so shocked in his life. Who the hell does this kid think he is?! The girl jumped in front of Mituna, grabbing his shoulders before he could even move.

- Mituna calm down! It was an accident! – she said calmly. – I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you. It was just an unfortunate incident and it's over now, so you can relax.

Mituna's face changed with every word coming from Latula. His eyes started to tear up and he quickly covered his face.

- I'm so sorry, Tulip. – he said quietly. – I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

She took the tall boy into her arms and brushed her hand against his hair. Cronus grimaced, grabbing a toothpick and chewing it feverishly in his teeth. Before he could say a word, Latula looked at him apologetically.

- Yeah, I'll be going now. – he said finally. – Sorry for the trouble.

Without waiting for the girl to answer, he quickly walked away in the opposite direction. He never felt so awkward in his life. Once he left his school, he made his way towards the bus stop and sat down, pulling out his iPhone.

- ,,I think I just met the new kid" – he typed and sent the message to Meulin.

- ,,Really?! How's he like?!"

- ,,I'll say this much: I've certainly never met anyone so fucked up in my life"

He typed send and stretched out his legs staring up at the grey clouds. Great, it's gonna rain and from the bus stop to his house he has to walk 20 minutes. Cronus sighed and received another message from Meulin.

- ,,That sounds terrible! But, I hope we'll be able to get along with him."

Cronus laughed amused.

- ,,I highly doubt that."

Cronus spent the rest of the day constantly thinking about the deranged teenager he met in an unfortunate series of events. He thought about it through the whole ride to the bus stop and the long walk home, not even realizing he was soaking wet from the rain, until he entered the house. He removed his leather jacket and hung it on the rack, then pulled off his shoes and tossed them in the corner. From the looks of it, probably nobody was home. The usual. He father was off in the office, while his little brother most of the time drawing in his room after school. He walked into the kitchen and starting preparing himself some lunch, when he felt a tug on his shirt.

- Cronus? – said a small voice.

He looked down to see a little boy with curly, black hair and a large amount of freckles on his face. He looked at Cronus with big blue, pleading eyes.

- I'm hungry. – he said.

Cronus frowned. His asshole of a father forgot to make lunch for his little brother, again. He sighed and kneeled to look at him face to face and ruffled his curly head.

- What'll it be, chief? – he said with a smile.

The boy laughed and tugged on his arm.

- Pizza! – he cheered.

- Pizza it is then. – said Cronus, reaching out for the phone and taping in the number to the local pizza joint.

Once the meal has arrived the eager boy jumped up at the sound of the doorbell, dropping his gaming controller and racing to the door.

- Cronus! It's here, It's here! – he sang over and over again.

- Jesus, Eridan. Calm down I'm going. – laughed the older brother and paid the pizza guy. It pained Cronus to use his allowance, but he'd do anything for his little bro.

Once the youngling received his long awaited prize, he dug his teeth into the soft dough and smiled triumphantly.

- Happy? – asked Cronus allowing himself to take a slice.

Eridan nodded energetically and continued attacking his pizza slice. Cronus couldn't stop smiling at his brother. He remembered how he used to despise him and hate him, accusing him that he was the reason their mother passed away. And with age, he noticed how much his brother resembled his mother. His smile, his big, blue eyes, his artistic personality. Sometimes it pained him, but in the end he's thankful for having him by his side. He would do anything in the world for him to keep smiling like that. What he hated the most, was the way his father would treat him so indifferently. Cronus knew deep inside that he blames Eridan for his wife's death and because of that, he didn't have the decency to raise his own son. Instead, he hired nannies to do the job for him. But ever since Cronus was mature enough to take care of them both, he left that responsibility for Cronus to handle. To Cronus, his father was nothing, but a sperm donor who lived with them and provided them money.

Once they finished their meal, he took his brother to the bathroom and helped him take a bath, then prepare for bed. Once Eridan was tucked under the covers, Cronus was going to turn off the light, when he grabbed his wrist.

- Cronus? Can you tell me a bedtime story? – he asked.

- A story, eh? – said Cronus, as he grabbed one of Eridan's little purple chairs and sat down in front of him. – Let's see here. What kind of story?

- About a prince. – smiled Eridan.

- Ok then. Once upon a time, there was a prince named, Eridan.

With those words, Eridan shyly grabbed his stuffed seahorse and covered his beaming smile.

- He was a strong and powerful wizard, that ruled the seas with his army of seahorses. One day, while he was out on one of his magical adventures, he met a beautiful princess named , Feferi.

Eridan giggled at the name. Cronus was aware that it sounded weird, but he continued the story.

- Feferi was the princess of cuttlefish and the deep ocean and when she met prince Eridan, they instantly became the best of friends. Until one day, on one of their scavenges – Cronus stood up. – She was snatched by a huge monster with red and blue eyes. – he said and grabbed a stuffed doll from the floor, mimicking his story.

- Prince Eridan was furious at the monster and he followed it into it's cave. He pulled out his mighty sword. – Cronus took a plastic, samurai sword in his hands and placed it in from of him. – And very slowly walked into the monster's cavern. He could hear the princesses cries, as she was being tickled by the beast. The worst torture of all! – he exclaimed and Eridan giggled.

- Then he walked behind the monster, lifted his sword. – Cronus lifted the sword. - Then he suddenly dropped his weapon and took the monster in his embrace. The monster was surprised and shocked. Then Prince Eridan said: ,,It's ok, monster. I know your lonely and don't have any friends, that's why you steal people. But you don't have to do that anymore, cause I will be your friend." The monster was so happy, that he let the princess go and hugged the Prince saying: ,,Thank you, Prince Eridan. I've always wanted a friend and you made my dream come true." – Eridan's eyes beamed, as he stared wide-eyed at his brother.

- Then Prince Eridan, the monster and even Feferi became friends and went on wonderful adventures together. – finished Cronus with his arms wide and smiling triumphantly.

Eridan's eyes stared to tear up. Cronus kneeled in front of his brother and ruffled his hair.

- What's wrong? You didn't like it?

Eridan threw his small arms around Cronus's neck, tears rolling down his puffy cheeks.

- That's the best story you've ever told me. – he said, his voice becoming hoarse. – I love you, Cronus.

Cronus's heart sank. Every time his brother would say those words, he would see the image of his mother hugging him and saying the same words. He tightened his grip on Eridan and covered his face in his hair.

- Me too. – he replied holding back his tears.

- Cronus?

- Yeah?

- Can you sleep with me?

- Yeah.

He laid down next to Eridan and pulled the covers over them, holding him close to his chest. He brushed his hair gently with his fingers and kissed his forehead. He closed his eyes, a tear falling down his cheek and slowly drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: As The Rush Comes

It was 5 am, when Cronus woke up. He qui etly shuffled out of Eridan's room and s tarted preparing himself for school, sin ce he didn't do that the day before. He went into his room and noticed a few unr ead messages on his phone. One was from his father. Cronus frowned and opened th e message box.

- ,,I won't be coming home tonight. Make sure to prepare for school."

Cronus laughed.

- Well you don't say. – he said sarcasti cally and opened the second message.

- ,,Hey bro. You're bike is fixed. You c an stop by tomorrow morning to pick it u p. The garage will be open" – it was fro m Kurloz.

- Fuck yeah. – said Cronus forming his h and into a fist and thrusting it in the air.

As fast as a rocket, he raced to the bat hroom to take a quick shower and grabbed whatever clean clothes he had in his cl oset. Nothing like the simple combinatio n of a t-shirt with your favorite band a nd ripped up skinny-jeans. He went downs tairs to prepare breakfast for himself, also preparing lunch for him and his bro ther for school. Once he finished his br eakfast, he heard a knock at the door. I t was the babysitter. He went up to the door and opened it reveling a short-hair ed blond with a cheerful smile, dressed in a preppy, blue dress.

- Good morning, am I too early?

- Right on time, Ms. Paint.

The woman entered the house and removed her coat and shoes, then went inside.

- Is he still sleeping?

- Yeah. Preschool starts at 10 am, so no need to be in a hurry. I already made l unch for him.

- You are the sweetest, big brother I've ever met. – she said patting his head.

- Thanks. – he said, feeling slightly un comfortable. – I have to go to school no w, so I'll be off.

- Have fun, dear! – said Ms. Paint wavin g at Cronus and he walked out the door.

Ms. Paint is the only babysitter, that h as been with them for longer than 1 year . All of the other ladies always felt in timidated by Cronus's father, since he'd hit on every woman in sight, which disg usted Cronus to the core. He tossed his backpack on his shoulder and walked towa rds the bus stop, waiting for the ride t o Kurloz's town. He didn't live too far, yet a walk would take him forever. Once he arrived to his destination, he walke d up to a wide, blue house and lifted th e garage door. His eyes beamed at the si ght of his sexy beast. The Harley Davids on Night rod gleamed in the sunlight. Th e shiny leather interior, deep black cyl inders and gleaming paintjob. Cronus was in heaven all over again. He quickly pu lled his baby out of the garage, closed it behind him and slipped on his black h elmet. It felt like he hasn't wore it in ages. The moment he started the bike, i t growled aggressively, eager to taste t he road again. Seating himself, he press ed on the gas and drove off the driveway into the road. Cronus just loved motorc ycles. Ever since he was a kid, he'd rem ind his father countless times to buy hi m a Harley once he turned 16. And that d ream came true. It was the happiest time of his life. Feeling the wind in his ha ir, the sound of the motorcycle beneath him, as the wheels grasped the road. It was a feeling he treasured and valued de eply.

He pulled into the school district and p arked in the bicycle area. Shifting the front wheel in the rack, he pulled out t he key and slipped off the helmet, smili ng widely like a kid that received candy from a candy store. He entered the scho ol proud as a peacock and tossed the hel met in his locker. He took all of his te xtbooks, then locked the door revealing a smiling Meenah behind it.

- Hey there, chief. – she smiled, mockin g the way he speaks.

Cronus grabbed a toothpick from his pock et and leaned to quickly kiss Meenah on the lips and place the stick in his teet h.

- Good to see you too, doll. What's the first class? – he said, wrapping his han d around her waist, as they walked to th e classroom.

- Biology.

Cronus hissed.

- Oh my, I was never good at biology. – he sighed.

- What are you talking about? You're pra ctically an expert of the human anatomy. – she said suggestively, squinting at h im.

Cronus laughed and ruffled her hair, cau sing Meenah to cry out in protest.

- You and your dirty mouth.

- You like it. – she said sticking her t ongue at him.

- I do. – he replied and quickly grabbed her tongue with his teeth.

- Can you guys be even weirder? – said a voice in front of them.

The couple glanced at the people in fron t of them. The one who spoke up was Rufi oh, no doubt about it. Yet there was ano ther female by his side. A beautiful gir l with wavy, long, black hair tied up in a bun on the top of her head with chops ticks and thick eyelashes covered in a l arge amount of mascara. Her lips where b lood-red and cheeks a soft cherry color. Her entire face emanated sex and beauty . The corners of her mouth lifted slight ly, as her dark eyes glanced at Cronus. He shifted the toothpick in his mouth, a s he stared back.

- You're not a morning person, are you R ufioh. – sighed Meenah.

- That and watching you two making out. – he said quickly and entered the classr oom.

- Damn Damara. – started Meenah chucklin g at the girl in front of her. – He's no t getting enough sex.

Damara shrugged and slowly walked away f rom them. Once Cronus and Meenah took th eir seats, the teacher entered the class and began the lesson. Half of the day s pent with studying useless things you'll never need in life can tire a person ou t. When the bell for lunch break rang, e veryone raced to the lunchroom to be fir st in line and get the best stuff. Cronu s slowly walked towards the lunchroom. H e was in no hurry considering he never b uys anything at school. The shit is terr ible. The place was packed with teenager s scrunched by the food line and the res t scattered around each table. Cronus ma de his way to the table, where all of hi s friends were huddled around. A girl wi th piercings in her face and hair partia lly dyed green got up and fist bumped Cr onus.

- I see you got your bike back. – she sa id.

- I sure did, Porrim. And I'm not lettin g you borrow it. – he said smiling widel y.

- Damn. – chuckled the girl. – Can't bla me me for trying.

Meulin shot out of her seat and waved to Cronus.

- Hey, Cronus! Tell me about the new kid , I want to know all the details!

- What new kid? – said Porrim, taking a bite of her salad.

Cronus groaned and toke a seat next to t he green-haired girl.

- This new kid in sophomore year with me ntal problems. Like big fucking time. I' ve never seen anyone with such mood swin gs in my life. – he said and toke a bite of his sandwich.

- Oh, so he's bipolar. That's wicked. – gleamed Meulin.

- Who's bipolar? – said a voice from the other end of the table.

Everyone turned their heads to see Damar a resting her chin on her hands.

- Getting in on the gossip I see. – smil ed Porrim.

- You know me. – she shrugged. – So who are you talking about?

- The new guy from 2A! – beamed Meulin.

Damara slowly blinked and smiled slightl y.

- Ah, you must be talking about Mituna C aptor.

Cronus paused and lowered his sandwich t o give Damara a confused look.

- I happen to know his girlfriend, Latul a Pyrope. She's his caretaker.

- That freak has a girlfriend? – grimace d Porrim, as Damara nodded.

- It's said the Mituna had an unfortunat e accident and ended up the way he is no w. Latula was his girlfriend way before the incident and she feels guilty for wh at happened. Since then she started taki ng care of him, as his personal babysitt er.

- That sounds terrible. – said Meulin hu gging close to Kurloz, who was quietly e ating his lunch not really paying attent ion to the conversation.

- It is. – said Damara and sighed. – She 's gonna be stuck with the same guy, unt il the end of high school.

Cronus frowned, chewing slowly. He under stood gossiping and all, but never reall y tolerated when Damara would backbite a nother person for their problems. Since there was a time he fell victim to her t rashing. He got up, dropped his meal in the trash and walked out the door outsid e. Nobody even noticed him leave. He wal ked around to the back and pulled out a cigarette from his front pocket. He neve r really smoked at school, since it was too risky, but at this moment chewing a toothpick wasn't enough to calm the nerv es down. Blowing out the smoke, he leane d against the stone wall and closed his eyes, letting the toxins enter his lungs . He was starting to feel at peace, when he heard rustling nearby. His eyes shot open and his heart stopped. He was caug ht. He slowly turned his head to see som eone, just as surprised as he was. Mitun a; the tall, slim boy with fluffy hair a nd dual-colored eyes. Cronus sighed in r elief, as it wasn't a teacher, but start ed to feel uncomfortable, when Mituna di dn't seem to show any signs that he was leaving.

- What are you doing here? – he started slowly, not sure how Mituna was going to react to seeing him since yesterdays in cident.

- Looking around. – he said abruptly, ye t he didn't seem angry or annoyed.

- Awkward place to be exploring. – said Cronus, tapping the cigarette with his f inger for the ash to drop off the tip. – You shouldn't be here.

- Neither should you. – replied Mituna s itting down on the grass.

Cronus frowned slightly taken aback by h ow straight forward and indifferent his responses were.

- Won't Latula be looking for you? – he said, realizing that mentioning his girl friend wasn't a good idea.

He glanced at Mituna and nothing is his posture changed. He was lying on the gra ss with his back against the wall and le gs stretched out.

- She won't. This is the only time I can be by myself with nobody around.

Cronus breathed in again, slightly feeli ng nervous at that answer.

- ,,It's official: he gives me the creep s." – he thought to himself.

- Listen. – said Mituna looking down, ri pping the grass from its roots. – I'm so rry I lashed at you. I hope you didn't t ake it personally. My brain goes haywire , when I can't control my emotions.

- So I've noticed. – Cronus chuckled ner vously.

- No hard feelings?

The greaser looked down to see Mituna wa s staring at him intensively. His heart slightly rattled at the sight of his eye s.

- None at all.

Mituna looked back down at the grass to rip out a handful after the other. Cronu s couldn't help but fell the nervous atm osphere building around him, hoping that Mituna wasn't playing a prank on him an d the moment he drops his guard, the fre ak will pounce on him and rip open his t hroat.

- Okay then. – Mituna spoke up, as he li fted himself from the grass and walked t owards Cronus.

Cronus didn't have a moment to react and was surprised, when Mituna was standing in front of him holding out his hand.

- I'm Mituna Captor.

Cronus nodded slowly unsure what to say. He guessed, that what Mituna meant was a fresh start.

- Cronus Ampora. – he said and grabbed o nto Mituna's hand to shake it slowly.

Suddenly the corners of Mituna's lips sl ightly lifted, until he was showing two rows of perfectly white teeth.

- Nice to meet you, Cronus. I hope we ge t along.

For some reason Cronus couldn't stop sta ring at him. It felt like they where sha king their hands for more than 5 minutes , yet Cronus didn't really mind how awkw ard that must have looked. Once the bell rang, Mituna removed his hand from his and walked away without a word. Cronus s tood there bewildered, trying to digest what just happened. He quickly collected himself and made his way into the schoo l, ignoring his friends that were callin g to him. He couldn't think clearly and didn't want to say anything stupid. He w ent to is locker, grabbed his books and entered the classroom for science class. He seated himself at the usual spot in the back of the room and dropped his hea d in his hands, covering his face. Momen ts later, he heard someone sit in the ch air next to him and poke his shoulder.

- What's your problem? You totally blew us off. – said a familiar, husky voice.

Cronus looked up to see Porrim sitting n ext to him, staring at him angrily.

- I didn't blow you off, I just wasn't p aying attention.

Porrim growled at him and slid his phone on the table.

- Then next time I'll just let someone s teal your phone then, what do you think of that?

The greaser sighed and toke his phone in to his pocket.

- Thanks, Porrim. I owe you one.

- Yes, you do. – she said, taking out a spiral notebook. – I forgot my chemistry textbook, do you have one?

Cronus glanced into his bag to notice th at he doesn't have on either.

- Fuck. – he groaned.

- Then you better get a move on to the l ibrary before the teacher comes.

Cronus lazily lifted himself from the ch air and walked out the door into the hal lway. Luckily, the library wasn't too fa r from the classroom, so there was a cha nce that he'll make it before the teache rs arrives. He slowly opened the door an d slipped inside. He never liked going i nto the library. The quiet atmosphere wa s never appealing to him for some reason . He walked to the back, where most of t he textbooks were and started searching for the chemistry workbook. Once he slip ped out the blue, hard-covered book, he noticed in the corner of his eye a dim l ight coming from one of the back rooms. Curious on who would be there, he walked up to the door to look through the wind ow. There was somebody there, sitting cu rled up in a chair and … coloring? There were colored pencils, pastels and sheet s of paper scattered all over the floor. Cronus scoffed, thinking what kind of h igh school student still colors with mar kers and crayons, when that person sligh tly turned sideways to revel a cherry-re d eye. Cronus furrowed his eyebrows. Wha t was Mituna doing here and not in class ? He didn't notice that the door wasn't closed all the way and when he leaned on to it, it creaked loudly reveling his pr esence. Cronus quickly backed away befor e Mituna could see him and ran out of th e library. He ran into the classroom, wh ere the teacher already began the class. 

- Ampora, your late. – he said, not lift ing his eyes from the attendance sheet. – Sit down.

Cronus rolled his eyes and sat next to P orrim, who noticed something was off abo ut the male.

- What the hell took you so long. You we re gone for almost 15 minutes.

- Not now, Porrim. – he said, frowning a t the green-haired girl.

Porrim for moment was quiet, which wasn' t normal for her.

- You were acting weird since yesterday. Did something happen? – she said, avoid ing eye contact and taking notes from th e board.

- Nothing happened. – he answered back. – Schools a fucking drag, the usual.

After that Porrim didn't ask anymore que stions. By the end of the day, Cronus ju st wanted to go home, crawl into his bed and never come out. Everything was begi nning to irritate him and he didn't know why. He went outside and put on his hel met, when someone latched onto his waist .

- Care to take me home on your magnifice nt stead? – said Meenah.

Cronus gritted his teeth not in the mood for company at the moment, but he knew that if he would refuse her, she'd never let that grudge go.

- I don't have an extra helmet. – he mut tered.

Meenah reveled a silver helmet from behi nd her back and showed it to him.

- Now you do. – she purred and slipped i t on her head.

- Hop on then. – he said and started the engine.

Meenah happily seated herself behind the male and grabbed onto his waist, holdin g him close. They slowly drove off the s idewalk, through the parking lot and int o the street. They didn't say a word to each other through the whole ride, besid es Meenah giggling from time to time. Sh e enjoyed motorcycles as much as Cronus did, only her parents are a lot more str ict when it comes to safety. Once he dro ve up in front of her house, she jumped off the bike and removed her helmet whip ping her hair and tucked the helmet unde r her arm.

- So you wanna come in? My parents won't be home till 9. – she said smiling wick edly.

- I can't. I have to pick up Eridan from preschool.

Meenah stared at him slightly disappoint ed by the answer.

- Fine then. See you tomorrow. – she sig hed and walked away to the house.

Cronus was aware that Meenah knew he was lying. He just wasn't in the mood for s ex at the moment. Even he was surprised at his answer. But he needed to make a s top at the grocery store to buy ingredie nts for dinner. The kid can't live off o f pizza for long. He walked in and colle cted what he needed, then stuffed the sm all shopping bag in his backpack. As soo n as he walked out of the store, he hear d yelling from around the corner. Curiou sness toke over and he crept over to see Mituna and Latula having a loud argumen t. He knew eavesdropping wasn't a good i dea, since he could get caught, but he w as wondering what it was about.

- I can't believe it! How could you forg et about that, Tulip! Do you realize how much it means to me?! – he yelled wavin g his arms hysterically.

The last time Cronus saw Latula, when Mi tuna lost his shit, she was composed and cool. But this time he was surprised th at she was this angry. Latula was holdin g her arms staring hard at the ground mu rmuring to herself, then shot her head u p to look at Mituna.

- You're not listening to me, Mituna! Ho w many times do I have to you remind you , that you can't drink honey mead anymor e!

- But why not! – he whined grabbing his hair.

- Because its alcohol! It will corrupt y our brain and make you go crazy! – she y elled in his face.

- I'm already crazy! – he growled throug h his teeth, grabbing Latula's shoulders in a vice grip.

The girl winced from the pain and looked into Mituna's teary eyes filled with ha te and anger and wrapped her arms around him.

- I'm sorry, 'Tuna. – she said, her voic e hoarse from the yelling. – I wish I co uld make you happy, but I can't anymore, please forgive me.

Mituna's facial expression rapidly chang ed, as he realized what he has done and grabbed onto Latula hugging her close.

- I'm sorry, Tulip. – he said sobbing. – I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

Cronus grimaced and quickly turned aroun d before they could notice him. He felt disgusted with himself for being a witne ss to that personal argument. He wished he was able to erase it from his memory. He walked over to his motorbike then dr ove away as quickly as possible. The mom ent he got home, he was greeted by Erida n covered in paint, who chased all of hi s anger away.

- Welcome home, Cronus! – he exclaimed h appily.

- How ya doin, chief? – he said ruffling the boys hair.

Eridan giggled and started pulling on hi s brothers wrist.

- Come see what I made at school!

The small boy tugged his big brother to his room and pointed towards an easel, t hat had a colorful painting of a blue sk y, green grass and two individuals, that resembled the both of them.

- Is that us? – asked Cronus laughing, w hen he noticed a toothpick in his mouth on the painting.

Eridan nodded energetically smiling real ly wide.

- Do you like it?!

Cronus went up to the painting placing a finger on his chin, pretending to criti que it.

- Interesting choice of colors, mon amie . The painting is quite creative and abs tract. – he said imitating a French acce nt, which always made his brother chuckl e. – It's a wonderful piece of inspiring art. It deserves to be hung on the wall of fame. – he exclaimed throwing his ar ms in the air.

Eridan danced and clapped his hands.

- Yay! – he squealed. – Are you really g onna hang it up?!

- Of course I am. – smiled Cronus, remov ing the painting from the easel. – Lets go find a nice picture frame.

They went to the storage room and fished out a large picture frame and placed th e painting inside. Once that was done, C ronus hung it up over the fireplace. Eri dan's eyes glimmered and he latched onto his brother's leg, hugging him tightly. 

- Thanks, Cronus! – he said smiling up a t his brother.

Cronus pat his fluffy head and smiled ba ck.

- Don't mention it.

Eridan skipped away to his room as happy as can be and Cronus went to the kitche n to make dinner for the both of them, s ince their father wasn't coming home.


	3. Chapter 3: Bring Me Back A Dog

It was a restless night for Cronus, yet again. It's been three days since he las t slept and the lack of energy was start ing to catch up to him. Hearing the anno ying buzz of his alarm clock, he slapped the device to the floor and lifted his lifeless body from under the covers. Whe n he thought things couldn't get any wor se, he looked at his phone to see that h e overslept and had only half of his tim e to get to school. He quickly raced to the bathroom, got dressed then ran out t he door in time to let Ms. Paint in the house. Once he was on his bike and start ed the engine, the motorbike howled aggr essively, as it attacked the road and dr ove off in a fast pace. Cronus wasn't re ally a religious person, yet he was pray ing to God, that he'd make it in time to Mr. Hussie's English language class. Wi th only 3 minutes to go, he parked the N ight rod in it's usual spot and ran to h is locker to collect his books. He start ed feeling nervous for some reason, yet continued towards the classroom and open ed the door sharply. Mr. Hussie was stan ding in front of desk, red like a tomato from anger.

- And here comes the culprit! – he said loudly. – Thought you could play the sam e prank without me noticing it was you, huh?!

Cronus furrowed his eyebrows, surprised by the sudden morning rage.

- What did I do now? – he groaned.

- You know very well, what you've done. – he sneered. – My whole car is covered in black and purple spray paint! – he ye lled pointing a finger at the confused t een.

Cronus stared at his mental English teac her.

- Are you kidding me?! For one thing, I didn't even stay after school, and secon dly you have no right to accuse me witho ut proof.

Mr. Hussie laughed, slamming a hand on t he wooden desk.

- I have all the proof I need, Mr. Ampor a. After class I will think of a worthy punishment for you. For now, sit down.

- This is bull. – growled Cronus to hims elf, then slumped in his chair.

When class started, he felt somebody nud ge his arm. He glanced to his right and noticed Meenah, still watching the board , but passing him a note. Cronus quickly grabbed the piece of paper without the cranky, English teacher noticing.

- ,,Would you kindly explain to me what the hell is going on with you?!"

The greaser furrowed his eyebrows and si ghed, but answered the question and toss ed the paper back to her desk.

- ,,There's nothing to explain. Obviousl y, he decided that giving me a random pu nishment at the beginning of the year wo uld be amusing."

- ,,Drop the sarcasm. I want a straight answer."

- ,,Are you implying that I'm lying? Fin e then. Go ahead and believe the enemy." 

- ,,Please, Cronus. I couldn't care less about what you did to the guys car. You 've been acting like an asshole lately a nd I am still pissed about yesterday."

Cronus read the last message and glared towards Meenah, who was still looking at the board.

- ,,What?! You mad about that?! Do you r ealize how dumb that is?"

This time with a split second she looked up at him angrily, then the bell rang. Without waiting for him, she got up and stormed out the classroom. Cronus rolled his eyes and slowly walked out to go to the next class. The rest of the lessons passed by quickly, until it was time fo r lunch. Meenah refused to speak to Cron us and even snuck away with Aranea durin g lunch period. Cronus walked over to hi s usual table and dropped his tray on th e gray table.

- What's up with you? – asked Porrim, ra ising an eyebrow, while munching on her salad.

- Nothing much. Meenah's being a bitch a nd Hussie probably wants to put me in ja il. Feels like the usual. – he answered sarcastically.

- Jesus, it was just a question. – mumbl ed the dark haired girl. – Your not the only one she's avoiding, that's for sure . She's been limiting herself to speakin g only with Aranea lately.

- Yeah, well she can do whatever the hel l she wants. Like I give a shit. – he si ghed, chewing on the straw of his juice box.

Suddenly, Meulin and Kurloz sat down by the table, smiling like the happy couple they are. Cronus couldn't help but feel nauseous looking at them.

- Hey there guys! Why the long faces? – said Meulin with a wide grin.

- Sweetie, the sunshine emanating from y our happy mood is hurting my eyes. – sai d Porrim in a sarcastic tone.

Meulin huffed and took a bite of her app le.

- Nobody is being nice today. Damara and Rufioh are in a spat, Meenah and Aranea are avoiding EVERYONE and now you guys are joining the cloudy scene?

Cronus was slowly losing his patience. H e had it up to here with everyone consta ntly sitting on his ass for every, singl e detail. He got up from the table and s tarted walking towards the door outside. 

- And where are you going? – yelled Porr im.

- I need some air. – he growled and left the lunchroom.

He quickly walked to his usual spot behi nd the school against the tree, while li ghting up a cigarette. He closed his eye s and leaned his head against the bark b reathing in and out the nicotine.

- Smoking is bad for you, you know. – sa id a quiet voice.

Cronus almost swallowed the smoke from s urprise. He looked over by the larger ma ss of smaller trees and saw Mituna on th e grass chewing on a sandwich.

- Nice to see you too, Mituna. – he scof fed in a sarcastic tone. – I see you fou nd a liking to MY secret corner, but don 't get too comfortable.

The shorter teen snorted at the comment. 

- Who said this place belongs to YOU? – he said in a childlike manner, which mad e Cronus crack a smile.

- I'm just kidding, chill. It's just I'v e been coming here since freshman year, so I feel a sentiment to this place. I'm not used to seeing other people here.

Mituna took a last bite of his sandwich and smiled widely.

- Then you better get used to me, cause I like it here too. – he said, then made a ridiculous facial expression.

Cronus laughed again, leaning his hand a gainst his forehead. He was surprised at how his mood rapidly changed the moment he realized Mituna's presence. It was l ike the cloudy weather, that was coverin g his good mood, suddenly vanished.

- My mind can't comprehend at how much o f a dork you are. – he chuckled.

Mituna stuck his tongue at him and Cronu s did the same. Then the bell rang and M ituna raced to the entrance, which was a huge relief for Cronus, cause for an aw kward moment, he felt an urge to bite th e shaggy haired teen's tongue.

* * *

The rest of the day raced by just as qui ck, as lunch break finished, yet his ann oyed humor was lifted. Once he finished his last class, he made his way was towa rds Mr. Hussie's classroom, where the pr ick was waiting to give him his ,,punish ment". Cronus lazily entered the classro om and sat on the first desk in front of the teacher's table. Mr. Hussie was sea ted and leaned back in his chair.

- I see your willing to accept your puni shment with some dignity. – he said with his hands folded.

- I didn't do anything, but whatever, wh at's my penalty? – he said indifferently , playing with the toothpick in his mout h.

The English teacher lifted himself from the office chair and started pacing back and forth.

- I thought this over more carefully tha n usual, since this was the final straw. And I believe your punishment must be h arsher and more difficult this time. And what better way to punish someone, then to hit them right in the reputation.

Cronus wanted to burst out laughing, yet he kept his cool and only raised an eye brow with a slight smile.

- So I decided that Latula Pyrope, the n ew sophomore student, should have some e xtra support for her studies.

- Wow, what a punishment. That will surl y hurt my reputation. – said Cronus, rol ling his eyes.

- That's not what I had in mind. – said Mr. Hussie, smiling cruelly. – What you' ll be helping her with is taking care of Mituna Captor, her mentally handicapped friend.

At that moment, the toothpick dangling i n his mouth, slipped off his lips then f ell to the floor and his cocky smile dis appeared just as fast.

- You will help her anytime, when she ne eds it. When she's too overwhelmed, you shall take her place as caretaker and in the meantime you might learn some valua ble moral principles. You start tomorrow , now off you go. – he said smiling triu mphantly.

Cronus felt as if his teacher just menta lly slapped him in the face. He grabbed his backpack and stormed out the classro om, just when someone was walking his wa y and he bumped into the individual.

- Fuck. – he hissed, grabbing his nose f rom colliding with the other person's he ad.

- Oh shit. – said the female, rubbing he r forehead. – So sorry, didn't see you t here. – she chuckled. – Are you maybe Cr onus Ampora?

The greaser sighed, accepting defeat, bu t unwillingly.

- That's me. – he groaned. – we already met. Kinda.

- I remember you. – she smiled. – So I h eard you've been assigned to be my right hand, right?

- Mhm. – answered Cronus, narrowing his eyes.

- Sorry this is so soon, but I'm going t o be leaving for a week and somebody nee ds to keep an eye on 'Tuna for me, so ca n you do that?

- I don't really have a choice, do I? – he sighed with a forced smile.

- Great! – said Latula with a wide grin and handed him a piece of paper. – Here' s my number in case of anything. Mituna is mostly in the library during school h ours, so from time to time check up on h im, when you get a chance. That'll be al l, I swear.

- Yeah, thanks. – he mumbled and stuffed the paper in the pocket of his leather jacket. – Anything else?

- Nope! I'll see you later! – she exclai med and quickly turned around towards th e school exit.

- That'll be absolutely, fucking swell. – he growled and headed to the parking l ot. - Can my life get any more complicat ing than this?!


	4. Chapter 4: Body Bags

When Cronus woke up this morning, he was in a pretty positive mood … until he remembered the punishment he was assigned by Mr. Hussie.

Normally, when he was younger and one of the biggest troublemakers of the school, he ignored every punishment that was given to him and the teachers never tried to put him in line. But ever since the spray paint incident, his titular homeroom teacher kept a closer eye on him and especially took Cronus's motivation in his own hands. So, this time no matter how much he groaned and moaned it was something he was forced to go through and if he didn't all hell would break loose.

He quickly got ready for school and went to the kitchen, where Ms. Paint was already taking care of Eridan. The small boy sat by the kitchen table, swinging his legs in a rhythmic motion, while chewing on the fresh pile of blueberry pancakes. The woman looked up at the greaser from the stove and smiled warmly.

- Good morning, Cronus. Care for some breakfast?

Cronus was about to politely refuse, when his younger brother looked up at him expectantly, blue eyes shining brightly and face covered in maple syrup. The teenager relaxed his shoulders and rolled his eyes.

- Ok, sure. – he mumbled with a half smile.

He sat down by the table, across from Eridan and then was served a steaming pile of hot pancakes.

- I gave you a little extra, since your still a growing boy. – she said with a gleaming smile.

Cronus chuckled nervously.

- Yeah, I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish that. – he laughed.

- No worries! I'm saving the rest for when you kids come home.

Gazing again at the food Cronus smiled to himself, then took a forkful of the meal.

- Bon appétit! – he said, earning a laugh from the younger Ampora.

Cronus wasn't really used to Ms. Paint's pampering, so whenever she would prepare something for him, he would always feel a little awkward. He thought that was probably from the lack of a mother by his side, when he was smaller. Nevertheless, he appreciated her thoughtfulness and is the only grown-up he truly respects. After his quick breakfast, he bided them a farewell and drove off to school. Still, regardless of the pleasant beginning of his morning the first person he was greeted by was the devil himself.

- Don't forget, Cronus. You're a babysitter from now on. – he teased and hurried off to the teachers lounge.

Sometimes he wished he could wipe that irritating smile off that assholes face, but he has to wait till he finishes high school at least. He walked up to his locker, which was quickly slammed closed. Cronus looked up for a split second, annoyed, then at the intruder. Meenah was staring up at him angrily and leaned against the lockers.

- You never apologized to me.

Cronus snorted.

- For what? Being in a shitty mood, because I had a bad day?

- No! It's just. – she sighed heavily and ran her slim hand through her short hair. – Listen, I understand that not everything is perfect for you at the moment, but didn't it ever occur to you that maybe I want to make things better?

The greaser stared at the pouting girl, which automatically made him feel like a total idiot for ignoring this sassy diva. But, part of him was still oppressing her charm. Once she noticed this, she wrapped her slender arms around his neck and kissed him gently, but intimately on the lips.

- I meant what I said. I don't want us arguing about small details. It's tiring. – she said with a small smile.

Cronus rubbed his forehead and looked to the side. She got him where she wanted him and he knew that all too well. He sighed and embraced her in his arms.

- I'm sorry for being a douche, better?

- Yes! – she exclaimed cheerfully. – Now let's go to class.

Meenah toke his hand in her own and tugged him in the direction of the classroom, when he remembered what he had to do first.

- Uh, you know what? Go ahead I'll be right there, I gotta check something.

The dark-haired girl eyed him suspiciously.

- Ok, don't be late. – she said, showing off her signature grin and ran off.

Once he was sure she was gone, Cronus checked to see if any of his friends were around, then turned towards the library. He glanced through the window and entered the room walking towards the back, where he remembered seeing Mituna last time. The shaggy-haired teen was indeed inside, tossing his bag on the large desk and sat down comfortably in the grey office chair. Cronus smiled to himself and quickly left the room to hurry to his first lesson.

The first few classes went by swiftly, since he and Meenah were in accord. They'd occasionally pass each other messages, make fun of certain students or goof off putting the teachers on edge. Cronus felt pretty good, since they were talking again. Meenah can sometimes be a pushover, but she sure is fun to hand out with. After math class was over and one more lesson to go to lunch period, Cronus decided that it was time to check up on Mituna again. He was surprised at how he was keeping track of him so closely. He went into the library and suddenly noticed he was only a few feet away from him by the book shelves. Cronus quickly took cover behind one of the shelves.

- ,,What the hell are you doing?" – he said to himself, wondering why he was hiding from him exactly

When he turned to see if he was still there, somebody tapped on his shoulder.

- Jesus fucking Christ! – he gasped and jumped up slightly.

- What are you doing, Ampora? – chuckled Damara, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow. – Are you spying on someone?

- Don't sneak up on me like that! I almost had a heart attack!

- You're such a drama queen. – she grinned. – So what are doing here, because you don't look like you're looking for a book on geology?

Cronus panicked slightly. He didn't want anybody to know he was a babysitter for the bipolar, mental case. It would be too embarrassing. He quickly reached out for a random book and looked at her trying to keep his cool.

- As a matter of fact I was. Your assumptions were false.

- Ok, chill. – she smiled. – See you later then.

Once the bell rang, she smiled at him again before walking out of the library, swaying her hips more than usual. Cronus even caught himself staring at her choice ass.

As soon as math was over, it was finally time for lunch and all the hungry students filled the lunchroom. Everyone was situated at the usual lunch table, laughing, eating and from time to time tossing food around for fun. Then time came for Cronus to make his usual trip to his secret spot.

- I'll be back. – he said, then walked out the back door.

Spring was beginning to show itself in all it's green and warm temperature glory. He walked behind the school and sat under the tree to light up the tick of Marlboro Light.

- So, you're taking care of me, while Tulip is gone?

Cronus looked up and noticed Mituna was sitting across from him, back against the brick wall, staring at him with concentration.

- Yeah. – he replied shortly. – She told you?

Mituna shook his head with a sad facial expression.

- Actually no. The teachers did. She didn't inform me at all. – he said hugging his knees.

- I'm just as disappointed as you are. – sighed Cronus and turned his head to blow out the smoke.

- Can you not spy on me though? It's creepy.

Cronus almost chocked on the cigarette.

- What?! Who said I was spying on you?! Not that I was!

- A really pretty, Asian girl. – said Mituna smiling proudly. – But seriously it's creepy. Stop.

- Oh, my God! – groaned Cronus. Somehow he knew in his gut that she's probably spreading some weird rumor about him at this very moment. – Well, excuse me for trying to do my job. It's not like I volunteered!

- Then why are you doing it?

Cronus glared at him.

- None of your business.

- Because the Asian girl told me you were punished for vandalism.

Curse you, Damara Megido, thought Cronus. He was growing the craving to crack the fancy chopsticks in her hair.

- I didn't fucking do anything. – he sighed, leaning against the tree trunk.

- I know. – replied Mituna. – I was the one who spray painted Mr. Hussie's car. – he said bluntly.

The greaser's body froze and he stared at him, rage growing with every passing second.

- What … - he finally muttered out.

He wasn't sure, if he wanted to kill him or congratulate him, for having the balls to publicly embarrass the most intimidating teacher on the whole planet Earth, probably.

- Yeah, that things a piece of shit. So I decided to give his car a makeover, but it turned out he didn't really appreciate it, in the end. – he said with a toothy smile.

There was a moment of silence between them. Suddenly Cronus started giggling, which turned into uncontrollable laughing.

- Why are you laughing! It's not funny! – growled Mituna, as he sat up on his knees.

Cronus wiped the tears from his eyes and took a few breaths, barley holding on to his cigarette.

- That's THE DUMBEST thing I've EVER heard. Your really are an idiot.

- Well fuck you too! – shouted Mituna.

- You do realize I need to get revenge for that, right? Since I had to take the credit for your artwork. – he said sarcastically.

Mituna leaned his head back nervously.

- N-No you don't.

- Yes I do. – said Cronus.

And at that moment, Cronus pounced on the teen across him and shoved the cigarette to his lips.

- Taste payback, asshole! – he laughed.

Mituna waved his hands at him, trying to get the terrible thing from his mouth, yet Cronus was a lot stronger and when he felt it was right, he let go of the flushed, coughing teen.

- You could've suffocated me, fuckass! – he cried.

- Calm down, chief. It's a smoke. It won't kill you instantly.

- Speak for yourself!

- I'm still alive, aren't I?

- I hate you.

- Likewise.

There was another moment of silence between them. The only one making noises was Mituna wiping his mouth on his sleeve and groaning from the horrible taste. He was glaring at him angrily and Cronus was laughing in amusement.

- Ok, I'm sorry, Jesus. – he laughed.

- Say it like you mean it! – exclaimed Mituna like an angry child, that didn't get the rainbow lollypop from the candy store.

- I'm sorry.

- And promise you won't ever do it again!

- I promise. – sighed Cronus.

Mituna sat up, crawled up to him and lifted his hand towards him, specifically his pinky.

- You pinky swear?

Cronus face palmed at how ridiculous this was. He looked at Mituna, who was starting to become impatient and curled his finger around Mituna's.

- I pinky swear and cross my heart. – he said, than imitated his words with a cross motion across his chest.

Mituna smiled and breathed out in relief, as if an important contract has been signed and sealed. And at that moment the bell rang and both boys got up from the grass.

- So, uh, I guess I'll see you around. Minus the stalking. – said Cronus, reassuring about the stalking part.

Mituna looked back at him and smiled warmly, which triggered a weird sensation in Cronus, that he himself wasn't sure how to define it.

- Yeah. – said the shaggy-haired teen quickly and ran off into the school.

Cronus smiled to himself and dropped his cigarette going his own way as well.

- Damara thinks your being secretive about something. – grinned Meenah, poking on Cronus's arm in the biology lab.

The greaser growled quietly enough for Meenah not to notice and frowned.

- Damara is a two-faced bitch, who thinks everybody has juicy secrets to unveil.

- Jeez, I was just saying. – laughed the short-haired girl and looked down to the frog they were dissecting. – Don't worry about her. She's been like that, since Rufioh started keeping secrets from her.

Cronus stopped cutting the frog for a moment to glance at Meenah and frowned. He knew Rufioh for ages and during that time the guy was truly committed to Damara even when they weren't dating. Since when did he start keeping secrets from her? He snorted in response and continued his work.

- Did Aranea tell you this? Why do you always believe what she says? She's as bad as they get when it comes to gossip and rumors.

Meenah sighed in annoyance. She never really appreciated it when somebody would talk trash on her best friend.

- Because for some odd reason she's always right about everything.

- Ok then. What did she say?

- That Rufioh's gay.

Cronus froze trying to calculate what was just transmitted into his brain. Rufioh? The badass, gangster who even puts hip-hop rappers to shame, gay? What the fuck?!

- Then who's the butt-buddy? – he said sarcastically.

- She's not sure entirely. But considering Horrus is his best friend he might know. Though she has a weird feeling about him.

- Are you saying Horrus is gay for Rufioh? Oh, please. – he mocked. – If Horrus is gay, then maybe I am too! – he sang sarcastically, but really deep down in his gut something tugged on his insides the moment he said that. – It just doesn't make sense. – he said quickly.

- Maybe you're right. We'll see anyway at Porrim's house party. Might catch them making out in the bathroom. – snickered Meenah with a toothy grin.

Cronus grimaced at the idea.

- No. Stop right there, don't go any further and help me with this fucking frog already.

Meenah chuckled and grabbed his scalpel.

- Move aside, rookie. Watch a pro work this amphibian.

After biology and a few classes after that school was finally finished, thank the Lord. Cronus practically ran to his locker for his motorcycle helmet. Once he grabbed the purple head gear, he felt his partner grab onto his arm.

- Do you have any room for me? – she said in a sweet tone, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Cronus chuckled and patted her on the head, which he knew she hated.

- Let me check. – he said then left to the parking lot.

He turned towards the place where his Night Rod was waiting and stumbled upon Mituna, who was lying on the grass with his arms under his head. Cronus looked around for anyone near and went up to him.

- I don't know how far your mental illness goes, but when the bell rings that means you can go home. – he mocked.

Mituna got up quickly to glare at him with pink cheeks. For some reason that seemed kind of cute.

- I know that, asshole! – he growled, then looked down at his feet. – Tulip would always drop me off after school. – he said quickly.

Cronus slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.

- So you're saying you don't have a ride home?! Do you even remember your address?!

He slowly shook his head, obviously embarrassed. Cronus groaned. He had to take Mituna home in that case, or else Hussie would have his ass in a meat grinder. And that meant he had to lie to Meenah … again. He quickly passed Mituna his bike helmet.

- I'll take you home. Wait here and DON'T move – he said firmly.

Mituna like a scared puppy nodded his head and watched as Cronus ran back into the school, luckily met Meenah halfway.

- Listen, Meenah-

- You can't can you. – she said bluntly.

Cronus got a little surprised at the statement and slightly scared at the same time. Did she notice him with Mituna?

- You have to take care of Eridan, right?

- Yeah, exactly. – he said trying not to sound to relieved. – Sorry, babe. Some other time.

He quickly kissed her forehead and ran back to the parking lot. Just like he was told, Mituna stood there obediently waiting for him. Once Cronus removed his beast from her shackles, he started the bike making Mituna jump up slightly from the sudden sound. Cronus took out another helmet from one of the bags on the side and handed it to him. Mituna looked at it curiously, but didn't really know how to put it on. Cronus wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

- Are you joking? Just put it on your head.

Mituna shyly placed the helmet on his head and removed black strands of hair from his face. Cronus bit on the inside of his cheek. Damn, he sure looked adorable in that. He quickly shook away those thoughts and helped him on the Night Rod. When Cronus pressed on the gas, making the motorcycle roar with excitement, Mituna wrapped his arms around his waist in a tight grip.

- Are you sure this is safe? – asked Mituna unsure.

- Of course it isn't. – chuckled Cronus and rode off into the road.

They drove for about less than 45 minutes. Halfway along the drive, Mituna loosened up a bit and even started to enjoy himself. From time to time he would let out a giggle or would grab onto Cronus tightly when he got a little too freaked out. Either way they were off to a good start. Soon after that, the Night Rod drove into familiar territory giving out a loud howl from its engine. Cronus rode up the driveway and parked the motorcycle. Once he got off the vehicle, he turned to assist Mituna. Instead the shaggy-haired teen decided to take matters into his own hands and failed terribly by falling on his face with a muffled ,,ouch".

- Seriously Mituna. You're a hopeless guy. – laughed Cronus and helped him up.

- Shut the fuck up. – mumbled Mituna, cheeks turning slightly pink.

They walked into the house, removed their jackets and made their way into the kitchen.

- Ok, listen up. I'm going to call Latula for your address, so for now you can crash here, since we have no choice. – he shrugged and walked up to the fridge, from which he pulled out two bottles of water and tossed one towards Mituna.

- I guess. – answered Mituna, barley catching onto the bottle.

From around the corner, where the staircase was, there was a sound of running footsteps going towards them.

- Cronus! – hollered Eridan from the hallway.

The male put down his bottle when the small child ran up to him and grabbed onto his waist.

- I made a new painting, wanna see? – he said, then noticed Mituna in the corner of his eye and automatically hid behind his older brother.

- Yeah. – sighed Cronus, having to unnecessarily introduce Eridan to the bipolar teen. – Eridan, this is Mituna. – he said slowly gesturing towards the other.- He's gonna stay here for a while, so try to get along.

Eridan examined Mituna over cautiously, unsure on what to make of him. He never was a sociable one. Mituna ruffled his hair shyly and bent down to pull out his hand towards Eridan. He smiled at the smaller one encouragingly.

- Hi. – he said cheerfully, yet calmly. – Nice to meet you.

Cronus rolled his eyes, about to send Eridan back to his room, when the boy came out from hiding and walked up to Mituna bashfully.

- Hi. – he simply whispered, earning a wide grin from the teen.

Cronus was flabbergasted at the sight of Eridan actually introducing himself. In a way he was really proud, but at the same time wondering, why suddenly be friendly with Mituna?

- So Eridan, you like to paint? – smiled Mituna, which caused Eridan to beam in delight.

- Yes I do! Do you? – he asked excitingly.

- Uh huh. – nodded the teen. – Can you maybe show me your drawings?

Cronus has never seen Eridan so exited in his life. The kid practically lit up like a Christmas tree. He grabbed Mituna's hand and led him upstairs to his room.

- Yeah! Let's go to my room! – he cheered.

Cronus stood in the kitchen dumbfounded at the sudden change of events. He didn't know what to think or if he was capable at thinking at all. That for some odd reason, Mituna was the biggest introvert of the school, yet he clicked instantly was his little brother. Maybe, because they both share a childlike personality? That's probably the case. He decided to let things go the way they were, since he didn't have to keep an eye on Mituna. His brother is doing that for him. He took out the frozen dinner Mrs. Paint has left for them and Latula's phone number. She did say to call her whenever he wanted anyway. He dialed the number and waited, but nobody answered. He called twice, then three times, eventually five times and still nothing. Cronus sighed loudly, following with a growl of annoyance, since the bitch won't answer the phone. Mituna's staying over for dinner after all. He took out the pancakes and then went upstairs to Eridan's room. From the hallway he heard giggling and generally lots of noise. Then there was a loud sound of something spilling over. Cronus quickly ran up to the door and swung it open. What he saw next was so disgraceful, that he face-palmed himself. There was paper everywhere, colored pencils, the usual. But in the middle of it all was Mituna covered in neon yellow paint. He eyes were wide open from shock with arms sprawled out and mouth wide open. Eridan was laughing hysterically on the floor, grabbing his sides as tears fell from his freckled cheeks.

- What the hell happened? - muttered Cronus is slight surprise.

Eridan pointed to the shelves with paint that just so happened to be above Mituna. The shaggy-haired teen slowly turned towards Cronus with a worried look.

- I just wanted yellow paint …. I'm sorry for making a mess.

The small child regardless of the paint that was everywhere threw his arms around Mituna with a wide smile.

- You're so funny, Mituna!

Cronus smiled to himself and sighed taking another look at the mess.

- Ok, break it up. Gotta get you two cleaned up.

Eridan released his grip from the bipolar teen and ran to the bathroom.

- I'll be back just stay here. – said Cronus and Mituna nodded obediently.

After a few minutes passed Eridan was washed up and running to the kitchen, while Cronus helped Mituna to the bathroom.

- Here are all the washing supplies, a clean towel and I'm letting you borrow some of my clothes. - he said with a slight frown. - So I'll leave you to it.

Before he was able to walk out, Mituna grabbed his arm making Cronus raise an eyebrow at him.

- I-I'm sorry, but …. This might sound weird, but …. I need help.

Cronus chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck.

- I am NOT going to wash you, bro.

- That's not it!

Mituna turning a bright red color looked down to avoid eye contact.

- I need help removing my bandage …. - he whispered.

Cronus frowned at the sudden mention of a bandage and slowly nodded.

- Ok, then. Come here. - he sighed.

Mituna shyly removed his striped yellow and black t-shirt revealing, that the bandage was covering almost his whole torso with a plastic cast for protection. He then slowly turned around for Cronus to unblock the cast. The greaser felt a deep discomfort, as if he was invading the teen's personal space. He unlocked the straps and the cast fell to the floor leaving the bandage, as the last obstacle. Carefully and gently he removed the fabric. With every second, Mituna began to feel uneasy, until his whole back was finally uncovered. Cronus has never seen anything this disturbing in his life. Mituna's back was covered in deep wounds and scars, as if a truck with sharp spikes on the wheels drove over his entire back. In that moment he feel regret for treating him like an idiot. Obviously he's been through terrible trauma. He felt the urge to cradle him in his arms like a mother protecting her young. Mituna was now gripping his arms tightly, gently shaking with tears that were beginning to form in his eyes.

- Can you go now? - he said, but the gulp forming in his throat made his voice crack.

He didn't have to say it twice. Cronus was out the door the moment Mituna finished his sentence. For a moment, Cronus stood in the hallway, leaning against the bathroom door, eyes slightly widened as he ran his hand trough his hair. He could hear Mituna crying softly, all alone and that made a wave of pain go through his heart. He had to cover his mouth to control his emotions, which were going through a chaotic whirlwind. He had to leave right now, before he could do anything stupid. He made his way to the kitchen to concentrate on taking care of his brother. He turned on the stove and started preparing the food. Eridan, who was sitting in his usual chair, noticed that something was off in Cronus's posture and went up to him and tugged on his shirt.

- Are you mad, because we made a mess? – he asked with a small frown.

Cronus looked down at the dark-haired child pat on his head with a smile.

- Why would I? You were just being a bunch of dorks. Can't be helped.

Eridan smiled back and went back to the table, so Cronus can serve his dinner. Just went he stacked a bunch of pancakes on one plate. Mituna appeared from the hallway slowly walking to the kitchen. Cronus's clothed were quite big on him since the greaser was about 6 feet tall and Mituna only 5. Cronus couldn't help but notice how awkwardly cute he looked in is clothes. But he quickly gave himself a mental slap to the face and put Mituna's plate on the table.

- Latula didn't call back yet, so you're having dinner with us, I guess. – he said making himself busy with the dishes , so he wouldn't have to look at him.

Mituna nodded slowly to himself and sat down by the table.

- Thank you. – he said quietly.

Cronus leaned his hands on the counter, watching as the water disappeared down the drain.

- Don't mention it.

At that moment, he felt his phone start to vibrate uncontrollably in his pocket. He was surprised at who the caller was: Latula.

- Finally you picked up the phone. – he said dryly in annoyance.

- It couldn't be helped. I was busy. So what's up? Is Mituna giving you any trouble?

Cronus walked out the kitchen into the living room, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

- So you were too fucking busy to remember that the guy doesn't even remember his own address and had no way to contact his parents!?

- What are you talking about? I spoke to his father this morning and he said everything's covered.

- Well, the guy never showed up. And now your boyfriend is sitting in my kitchen eating pancakes as we speak.

Latula giggled at Cronus's remark.

- Eating pancakes? In your kitchen?

- This is not fucking funny. So can you finally tell me his address, so I can get him out of my house?!

- Ok, ok I'll text you the info. Thanks for taking care of him though.

- I don't have a choice, remember?

The girl sighed resignedly and hung up. Seconds later Cronus received a text with Mituna's house address. He slowly analyzed the numbers and letters realizing that he lives not far from him. It would take only a 20 minute walk to get there. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and returned to the kitchen. Eridan was already talking to Mituna, who was smiling slightly no longer looking sad. They both looked up at Cronus.

- If you're done, then I'll walk you home. – he said standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, shifting from one foot to another.

- Ok – he replied softly and got up to grab his sweater that hung on the staircase.

While disappeared to the hallway Cronus went up to Eridan and kneeled down in front of him.

- Listen, chief. I won't be gone for too long. Don't answer the door unless it's me, ok?

The child nodded energetically and ran up to Mituna to give him a big hug.

- I had fun. Let's play again sometime! – he smiled widely.

Mituna returned the smile at pat his head, but he didn't answer back. The two boys walked out the house, when a strange blue car drove up the driveway. Cronus widened his eyes thinking that it was his father. Luckily, it wasn't, but the driver reviled himself the moment he stepped out of the car. It was a tall-looking male with short black hair in a messy fashion like Mituna's.

- Dad? – said Mituna in surprise.

- Oh, shit – whispered Cronus to himself.

The man smiled at them and waved.

- Are you Cronus Ampora?

The greaser nodded, not wanting to say anything, since he felt uneasy in the man's presence.

- I'm here to pick up Mituna. Thank you for looking after him, unfortunately I became so busy with work that I wasn't able to leave until now. – he said rubbing his neck.

- How did you know he was here? – he asked, curious since he never mentioned to Latula where he lived.

- I was informed by the school principle that you're watching over him in Latula's place while she's gone.

- I'll be going then. – said Mituna first looking at his black sneakers, then at Cronus and walked up to the car.

Before getting back into the vehicle Mr. Captor smiled again at Cronus.

- Thanks again! – he grinned and got into the car then pulled out the driveway into the street.

Cronus watched as they slowly started drove down the street and turned left, disappearing from his vision. He sighed and sat down on the stairs, lighting up a cigarette in his pocket. The toxic waste was like a calming serum for his troubled mind. So many thoughts and emotions were swirling in his mind annoying him with every throbbing pain. He felt angry at Mituna and angry at himself. I never wanted to see him in that state. Cause now he was beginning to feel sorry for the teen and maybe even something more?


	5. Chapter 5: Like Elephants

No matter how much Cronus tried to get a goods night sleep his mind simply kept resisting him, threatening him with terrible visions of Mituna. Every time the shaggy-haired teen would pop up in his dreams, he would quickly wake up and light up a cigarette, which is the worst thing he could do, but he simply couldn't think of any other get-away. Sitting by the window, looking at the dark orange sky he finished his last smoke and glanced with a grimace at the clock. It was already 6 AM and he didn't get any shut-eye at all. He lifted his heavy and tired body from the floor and went to get ready for school, then headed out the door without any breakfast. Not only was he deprived of sleep, but nauseous and eating anything at the present moment would end with his head in the nearest toilet. Taking his bike would be a bad idea as well, so he slowly walked to the bus stop to catch the earliest bus. Once it arrived he got in and sat in the back seat, since the bus was empty and bound to stay that way. Not a lot of people take the early bus. He slumped down in his seat and closed his eyes hoping to get some sleep for at least for the 45 min ride to school. The movements of the bus were quite soothing, as if it was rocking him to sleep. It was working and he soon began forming a new dream. He was standing by the beach and the sun was slowly rising above the horizon. He sat down on the sand and watched as it's rays started stretching out to him.

- It's beautiful. Isn't it? - said a calm voice next to him.

Cronus opened his eyes and quickly tilted to the side from surprise. Mituna was next to him, smiling warmly at the sun before him.

- It almost feels like it could erase everything that's bad in world. - he whispered, then turned to look at him. - Don't you agree?

Cronus felt uneasy by his presence and Mituna noticed that right away. He reached his hand towards him and placed it on his hand.

- Don't be afraid, this is just a dream.

- Then what are you doing here? - he asked, easing his shoulders from the tension and moving back to his previous position.

Mituna chuckled, causing Cronus to give him a questionable look.

- Don't ask me. You brought me here.

The greaser looked away, flustered and puzzled by Mituna's answer.

- But I'm guessing that you have a specific motive, or else I wouldn't be here.

Cronus looked towards Mituna, this time with a different feeling. Taking a closer look at his face he noticed Mituna's mismatched eyes. One was a deep shade of blue, the other was unnaturally faded. Probably due to his accident. Yet, they matched his face perfectly, contrasting with his dark brown hair and light skin decorated with numerous freckles. To others he might seem weird, but to Cronus he felt just right. Mituna smiled at him and took his hand to place it on his pale-colored eye. They sat there for a moment, but it felt like an eternity. Cronus watched him breath deeply with his eyes closed in concentration. Then after those seconds have gone, he slowly removed Cronus's hand and opened his eyes. The greaser was speechless. Mituna's injured eye was suddenly replaced to match his other one. He smiled at him with relief and was about to say something, when Cronus was awoken by somebody calling his name.

- Hey, kid! - called the voice of the bus driver. - Nap time's over.

Cronus groaned feeling his body come back to reality, following with a pain in his back from sitting in the same position for too long. He grabbed his backpack and got off the bus, then made his way into the school. Automatically, his body started walking towards the library, to the room were Mituna studies. He peered through the window, yet nobody was there. He sighed to himself thinking that maybe he won't be coming today. He walked out the library and decided to head towards the classroom. Porrim was sitting against the lockers, concentrating on the book in front of her with her reading glasses placed on her perfect nose. Once she heard his footsteps, she looked up and smiled at him.

- And what are you doing here so early? - she said with suspicion.

- A guy can't be punctual?

She snorted removing the black frames from her face.

- You can't fool me, Ampora. Something up, so spill it.

He sighed and sat next to the dark-haired girl.

- I'm just having trouble with sleep, that's all.

Porrim raised an eyebrow, then looked back at her book.

- Really? - she said with sarcasm. - Cause if I remember correctly, you had the same problem, before you started going out with Meenah.

Cronus froze for a second, then looked towards Porrim with a frown.

- What are you saying?

She shrugged nonchalantly, eyes still fixed on the novel.

- Well, you were really head over heels for her. You had dreams about her all the time.

She looked towards Cronus, who was still frozen in place, staring at her with wide eyes.

- It was love, Cronus. - she said with a smile and glanced him.

He slowly turned his head to look straight ahead. His brain refused to function properly. It wanted to scream and smash a chair against the wall.

- I'm still going out with her, Porrim. - he said finally, annoyed that he let her analyze him so easily.

- That doesn't mean you love her. - she said quickly. - You can't lie to me, Cronus. The both of you have changed and everybody else noticed this too. But hey, love comes and goes and that doesn't mean you're going to stay with the same person forever.

Cronus, absolutely defeated, leaned his head against the lockers.

- So I should break up with her.

- If you want to. I could be wrong you know. Maybe she still loves you, but just doesn't show it as often.

Even though Porrim said those words in the most indifferent way possible, Cronus knew she didn't mean it. In fact, she was right about everything. But of course, he could never admit that to her. Porrim was always the best person to talk to about problems, even when you didn't go to her for help, cause she would always be there when it was convenient. Cronus knew he had to break it off with Meenah, but what kept his mind in disarray was the other theory. That fact that he could love, let alone be with another male was a totally different ball game and he wasn't even sure if he even wanted to try, let alone Mituna himself. What was shocking, was the fact that he was having second thoughts. Mituna seemed to be an exception and he didn't know why. Was it because he felt pity for the miserable guy? Hell, even his own girlfriend was looking for a way to run away from him. But those thoughts were too terrible to think about. Why was he even thinking about him so horribly?! Mituna deserves more than that. Before Cronus realized he's been sitting in silence for almost 5 min, he felt Porrim nudge him with her elbow.

- Hey, Cronus. Don't think too much or your brain will melt. - she said with a laugh, then gave him a curious look. - Wait a sec, if your not in love with Meenah anymore, then with who?

Cronus smirked at her, making the girl even more curious.

- I'm most definitely not telling you.

* * *

Once classes have started Cronus couldn't wait till lunch break. Suddenly he had a strong surge of energy. Even the teachers were surprised. His mind was oddly at ease and in line with itself. Once the final class was finished, he quickly got up from his seat to run out the door, when a certain female blocked his way.

- Since when are you in a hurry? - asked Meenah with suspicion.

- I'm not. - he replied casually, then walked past her, yet she followed behind him.

- Are you going to Porrim's party tonight?

Cronus slowed down to give her a puzzled look.

- What? She didn't tell me anything.

- Well, today is Friday and you know how much she loves parties. Are you going?

- Uh, I'll see. - he said quickly, then picked up his pace.

- Where are you going? - she called out to him.

- I need fresh air. - he answered, then walked out the door leading to the football field.

He made his way to his usual spot and spotted Mituna under the tree.

- Hey, Mituna! - he shouted, causing the other to quickly jump on his feet.

He ran up to him and leaned his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

- I need to talk to you.

- Me too. - said Mituna quietly.

They both looked at each other at the same time. Cronus straightened his posture and took a deep breath.

- Listen, about yesterday- he started but was cut of by Mituna.

- I'm sorry.

Cronus furrowed his eyebrows, but let Mituna continue.

- I-I never wanted you see that. And … I understand if you wouldn't want be around me anymore and-

- Mituna, stop. - said Cronus, determined not to let Mituna finish his sentence. - You can't apologize for something you simply couldn't control. Shit happens and you have to let it go no matter how bad it was. You don't have to tell me what happened, unless you want too, but I want you to know that … even though I'm just supposed to keep an eye on you, I want to help you too … so … yeah. - he said shifting his eyes away from the shaggy-haired teen with his hands in his pockets.

Mituna stood there speechless and dumbfounded with his eyes wide open.

- That's all I wanted to say. - said Cronus, glancing back at him to notice tears running down Mituna's face.

Before he could react, Mituna's arms were wrapped around his neck in a tight embrace. His body automatically started going crazy. His heart pace quickened dramatically and his throat went dry.

- Thank you. - he whispered.

Cronus laughed nervously patting his back.

- Calm down, chief. Don't go all emotional.

Mituna chuckled and backed away, wiping his cheeks with the sleeve of his sweater.

- It's just I always had Latula and nobody else, so I'm really happy.

- Don't get too comfortable. My brother was asking when he can see you for another art lesson. - said Cronus sarcastically. - He's quite fond of your stupid face.

Mituna snorted and punched the greaser in the shoulder.

- I'll see you later then, asshole.

Once Mituna turned around an idea popped into Cronus's head. He knew he was going to punch himself in the gut afterwards.

- Hey, do you want to meet up sometime this weekend? - he said quickly.

Cronus was prepared to be laughed at for making a pass at him, then Mituna smiled at him.

- And go where? - he asked.

- We'll improvise. - said Cronus with a smirk.

- See ya then.

Cronus waited till Mituna disappeared, then suddenly realized that Mituna doesn't have a cell phone. He shrugged then left to the school to go to the next class.

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a flash, since he was in a good mood. Actually, Meenah kept questioning him on why he's been so positive. Cronus replied every time with his middle finger and Meenah would stick her tongue at him. And the same thing went on for the rest of the day. Once classes were finished Cronus quickly exited the school to catch the bus, but before that happened he was stopped by Porrim.

- Hey, you're coming to my party, right?

- Yeah, yeah I'm coming.

- And you can bring your date too. - she said with a wink, then walked away to the parking lot.

Cronus chuckled to himself, then got on the bus. Who knew his day would go so smoothly.


	6. Chapter 6: Sinking

It was 8 pm when Cronus finished getting ready for Porrim's party. He hasn't attended a party in ages and it was an event he wouldn't dare to miss. Everybody knew Cronus through parties organized by the popular kids. Ever since freshman year, he had a reputation of being the biggest party animal, along with Rufioh, who was known to be quite the party man himself. Yet, that wasn't his only reputation. He was also known to be quite the womanizer. Just with the snap of his fingers he could get any girl to sleep with him. And unfortunately, that's what he did. Every time.

His eyes gleamed with excitement, as he combed his hair in his typical fashion. He was relieved that Porrim was throwing a party. It was the perfect time for him to let off some steam. Once he was sure he was presentable and ready, he grabbed his favorite leather jacket and combat boots, then headed down the stairs to sneak a package of beer out of the fridge. Once he entered the kitchen, he was greeted by his father, who was sitting by the table. He was not happy to see his son at the moment.

- And where the hell do you think you're going?! - he said sharply.

- When did you get here? - said Cronus with a frown and proceeded to grab the beer, ignoring the presence of his father.

- Just now. Are you planning on going out? Without even consulting me if you're allowed?

- It wouldn't be the first time. - he said indifferently and opened a bottle to chug down half of the liquid.

- Excuse me?! Are you forgetting who you're speaking with, you little shit?! Don't forget you still live under my roof, so whatever I say goes, understand?! Go to you're room. You can forget about leaving this house.

- Great. - smiled Cronus and grabbed the package. - More for me.

As he headed up the stairs to his room, his father shouted at him once more.

- Where do you think you're taking that?!

- Whatever, I paid for it! - replied Cronus.

Once he was in his room, he locked the door and headed to his closet, from which he removed a long, thick rope. He used to sneak out of his room so many times, he bought a rope to make things less complicated. He hooked it to a metal clip he installed on the wall behind his desk and tossed it out the window. He grabbed the beer and strapped it around his back with another rope, then slid down the wall of the house to disappear in the bushes, then reappear in front of the house. Porrim didn't live to far from him and taking his bike would be too risky, so he decided a short walk couldn't hurt. Once he arrived, the party was already turning up. The house was already tee-peed, beer bottles followed by drunk teenagers and couples making out were scattered on the lawn. Cronus had to step over many obstacles just to get to the front door. He almost stumbled over a random pinata in the process. How did it get there in the first place? Once he got to the front door, he didn't even get a chance to knock and it was swung open by Rufioh in his punk rock get-up with a crazy red and black mo-hawk.

- Cronus! My bro you're finally here! - he shouted and pulled the greaser into a tight bro-hug.

Cronus laughed at the already drunk teenager and quickly grabbed onto his shoulders, since he almost lost his balance.

- Shit man, you're already wasted and I just got here!

Rufioh grabbed the beer Cronus was carrying with a wide, toothy smile.

- Oh no, mi hermoso amigo! The party has just begun! Get your ass in here already. The girls already changed into their bikinis.

Cronus followed the laughing maniac into the now crowded house. The place was decorated with green lights everywhere and a disco ball in the middle of the living room followed by glittery, silver string all over the floor and loud music emanating from the huge speakers, that were placed around the living room and backyard. Porrim's parents where quite big in the fashion industry, which was obvious by the size of their magnificent estate. In the backyard was a huge swimming pool with a small waterfall cave, that had a jacuzzi inside. The pool was already filled with a few naked people here and there. Among the crown appeared the host herself sipping on a martini, dressed in a long, black dress that revealed her tribal tattoos. Even though her guests would act like wild animals, she would always stay classy and cool.

- Evening gentlemen. - she said with a small grin. - I'm glad you made it, Cronus. I specially made it a pool party for you.

- That's awfully kind of you, Porrim. But I'm afraid I haven't brought my swim trunks. - he said with a smirk.

Porrim took the green olive in her mouth, slowly sucking on the remains that were left on the tooth-pick.

- Then I guess you're gonna have to go in your birthday suit. - she grinned.

Out of nowhere Damara appeared and wrapped her arms around Cronus's waist. Cronus panicked for a moment, since she was his girlfriend, but he looked around, he was already gone.

- Well, I wouldn't mind. There's nothing yummier than a swimmers body. - she smiled, licking her lips.

Well, she was already drunk. No surprise, either.

- I'll leave you too it then. - said Porrim walking away to mingle with the rest of her guests.

Once she was gone, Damara started struggling to remove Cronus's jacket.

- Damara, you're drunk. Stop. - he chuckled.

- Come on! -she slurred. - Live a little!

- Hey, guys! - hollered a stranger in their direction.

The two looked towards the tall man, who happened to be Kurloz. Cronus wrinkled his nose, once the teen stood in front of them.

- Holy shit man, you fucking stink!

- I have a new product, dude. - he smiled with wide, red eyes. - It's mother fucking magic. You have to try it!

- Count me in. - smiled Damara deviously. - Where?

- The group is in the shed by the waterfall. - he laughed and took out a cigarette. - You coming, Ampora?

- I don't know, bro. I haven't done anything, since the summer of freshman year. I don't want to fucking pass out on a sidewalk, stark naked, singing ,,What a Wonderful World" like last time.

Kurloz busted out in uncontrollable laughter, barley holding onto his cigarette.

- Those were the golden days! Don't worry, I guarantee this shit won't fuck you up as much.

Cronus debated for second, then finally sighed defeated.

- Just one and that's it.

Aw yeah, mother fucker! - shouted Kurloz, wrapping his arms around their necks, leading them to the shed.

Truth be told, it didn't even resemble a shed. It was a small house with one room, which Porrim uses for meditation or reading. She let Kurloz and his junkies borrow the place during parties. Inside were colorful pillows everywhere, with Hindu paintings on the walls and green vines covering the ceiling and bookshelves. There were only a couple people, sitting on pillows and bobbing their heads to the music from the outside. Among the crowd was Meulin with her head tilted back and arms resting on the Victorian lounge chair. Once she noticed her boyfriend, she lifted her head and smiled lazily at him.

- Hey baby. - said Kurloz with a grin and caressed her cheek.

He grabbed his backpack and took a bag with two small, pink tables in a plastic bag.

- Ok guys, sit down on these pillows, so you'll be able to fully experience the magical glow.

Damara was the first to receive hers. She stuck out her tongue and Kurloz placed it there.

- Ladies first. - he whispered darkly.

- Now it's your turn. - smiled the clown and placed it on Cronus's hand.

Without hesitation he tossed it in his mouth and swallowed it dry, which was a mistake. A second later he burst into a fit of coughing. Kurloz laughed and pat his friend's shoulder.

- You need to take it slow.

- You don't say. - growled the greaser.

He suddenly felt a pair of thin hands on each side of his face being pulled towards their owner. Damara was looking deep into his navy blue eyes with total concentration brushing her thumbs against his cheeks.

- Can you taste it? Or else it won't work. - she whispered.

Cronus shook his head. Since he swallowed it, he didn't get to properly taste it's flavor. Damara smiled slightly then closed in on his lips, brushing her tablet against his palate. Before he even realized he was kissing the Asian girl, she withdrew licking her red lips.

- Can you feel it now?

- Yes.

* * *

Moments later the room started spinning. Everything was moving rapidly in every direction possible, yet all of the people were seated in their places. Cronus leaned against the wall, sweat dripping from his forehead and heart beating fast. His body became numb and lifeless, yet inside he felt like a fire was beginning to ignite inside of him. Damara was leaning against against his shoulder panting and smoking marijuana to increase the feeling. Her eyes looked towards his and his at hers. They both felt the same way. Eyes still fixed on his she removed the smoke from her mouth and placed it into Cronus's. He inhaled slowly, while watching her start body start to twitch. She removed the drug and pressed it into the ashtray next to them, then climbed on his lap to kiss him passionately. The fire in Cronus's body started rising with each kiss and movement of her hips against his. He felt the drug was taking over him. Damara stood up before he was able to open his eyes and led him into another room, that he didn't even realize was there. She fell on the mattress behind her, pulling Cronus on top. Her eyes were filled with the thick smoke of want and lust. The fire was spreading. As they grind and moved against each other, tongues fought for dominance, as they pulled each other desperate for contact. His large hands grasped her thighs making her gasp from surprise. He proceeded to slowly remove her red underwear, as her long fingers skillfully lowered the zipper of his jeans. Cronus felt the blood start to rush to his head and a faint echo was heard in his mind. The faint voice was familiar, but his body kept craving the female beneath it. His hands ventured under her skirt and grabbed her hips to move her closer, when the voice appeared again this time revealing it's face. He growled grabbing onto his head, moving away from Damara.

- No, I can't. - he hissed through his teeth.

- Cause I'm not Mituna? - said Damara quietly.

Cronus gasped, feeling a pain in his head arise and he looked up to meet Damara's gaze with wide eyes. She was … crying.

- I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. I just …. feel so lonely and hurt.

- Is it Rufioh?

She nodded, as more tears started flowing down her pale face.

- He cheated on me with Horuss. - she gasped, holding back the sobbing.

- Come here.

She crawled up to Cronus and wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her tightly in his arms. Deep down he was shocked that Damara could become so vulnerable and weak in front of another person. She would always have a straight face even when she was insulted. Never flinch when Rufioh would hit her, when he got drunk. She'd accumulate everything inside, just to stay strong. And that was what Cronus admired about her the most. As her sobbing started to slowly subside and breathing normalized, she chuckled.

- Why are all the good guys gay.

Cronus rolled his eyes.

- I'm not gay, Damara.

- Then what does that make Mituna?

He smiled. It was true, he wasn't gay and wouldn't be for just anyone.

- The only exception.

* * *

The party was over the moment some idiot decided it would be funny to start lighting up peoples clothes. Porrim got pissed and threw out every last person, except her closest friends. Damara and Cronus were leaning against each other as they walked out the shed and parted with Kurloz and Meulin. Porrim was standing by the front door holding a broom, yelling threats of death to a bunch of guys who were running away from her in just their boxers. She sighed and looked at the couple, exhausted.

- This is my least favorite part about parties. Where have you two been.

- Bonding. - said Damara with a tired smile.

- If that's what you wanna call it. - said Porrim wiggling her eyebrows and gestured the door with a kind smile. - Now get the fuck out of my house.

They both chuckled and did as they said, leaving the diva to clean up the palace before the parents arrived. As they lazily walked down the road Damara sighed and looked up at Cronus.

- Did Meenah tell you she's going out with Aranea?

- What the fuck? - frowned Cronus. - Are you kidding me?!

- Guess not. - she shrugged. - She was doing it behind your back.

- Hey, just because your boyfriend cheated on you, that doesn't mean you can go and put me down. Not cool.

- But you don't seem to have a problem with it. - she said looking at him through the corner of her eye.

He growled and looked to the side. He didn't care anymore, that was a true fact. But in a way it bothered him slightly. Who wouldn't be, if they were going out with that person for more than 2 years. But it felt like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders and had more room to breath freely. Being with Meenah was fun, but it was a toxic relationship.

- I guess I'll see you later. - said Damara and slipped out of his arms.

- You better not mention to anyone about Mituna. - he yelled, receiving a thumbs up from the girl.

- No problem!

Cronus slipped into the bushes of his house, then climbed up the rope and fell on the floor from exhaustion. He could feel the afterglow on the alcohol and drugs start to sneak up on him in the form of a headache. He smiled to himself and sighed.

- ,,Oh, what a wonderful world". - he sang quietly, then feel asleep on the floor.


	7. Chapter 7: The Tempest

Finally, after what felt like slipping into the afterlife, slowly yellow and orange rays of sunshine assaulted the face of the hungover teen lying on floor of his room. He twitched a few times and growled beginning to feel the heat, as well as the dryness in his throat with a headache following behind. He turned his body away from the arms of the yellow star, yet it was evenly uncomfortable as before. So he decided that lying on the floor was useless and carefully, he got to his feet. Regardless of the fact that he was moving in the slowest pace possible, his head was spinning rapidly as soon as he leveraged himself. Not even a second was able to pass and he felt the sickly, hot liquid forcing itself upwards in his throat. With eyes wide in shock he ran to the bathroom and dove his head in toilet. This was his least favorite part after epic parties. He grasped onto the handle to turn it, flushing the filth away.

- Fucking hell. - he gasped and lifted himself on the counter to wash his face.

- Cronus, are you ok? - said a small voice.

The greaser turned his head to meet the worried gaze of his younger brother. This wasn't the first time Eridan has seen Cronus hungover, but every time he'd give his brother a look of concern and uneasiness.

- Yeah, chief. Just your older bro going out and doing stupid things again. - he smiled reassuringly, earning a small smile from Eridan.

- I don't like it, though. - said Eridan dropping his gaze, making Cronus feel even worse.

He knelled down to ruffle the smaller boy's hair.

- I'm sorry, I'll make up for it, I promise.

Eridan smiled and hugged his brother, but quickly pulled away pinching his nose in disgust.

- You really smell.

Cronus laughed and rolled his eyes, while getting up.

- Then let me take care of that.

Once Eridan absconded from the bathroom, Cronus removed his clothes that reeked of alcohol and vomit, then entered to shower to be rid of it all. Cronus felt greatly relieved afterwords, as if the clean water washed away all of the toxins and removing the headache in the process. But that didn't mean it would stay that way. Once he was done he put on some clean clothes and entered the kitchen to take a few pills to keep his current state.

- Hey, is dad home? - Cronus called out to Eridan, who was watching TV.

- He left this morning. He said he had errands to run. - he replied, but not really paying much attention to anything besides the cartoon.

- I thought so. - mumbled Cronus, then proceeded to grab a glass of water and sit by the table propping his feet on the wood.

It was then something in the back of his mind told him to glance at the calender. It was Saturday. And who was he supposed to meet on Saturday? He almost choked on his water, causing Eridan to look at him in shock and slight confusion. Cronus got up from his seat and grabbed the clock, that was resting in the living room. It was already almost 11 am and he had no idea on how he was going to contact Mituna. But just when he was about to punch himself in the gut from being such a moron, he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate uncontrollably. He forgot it was even there. The number was unknown, but he answered anyway.

- Yeah?

The moment he spoke he heard rustling, then the sound of the phone probably crashing on a hard surface, following with the caller growling a sentence of swears.

- Who is this? - asked Cronus in annoyance.

- Hey, it's not my fault it just slipped! Fuck! I'm not used to using this thing!

- Mituna? - said Cronus in surprise.

- Well, good morning asshole.

Cronus chuckled to himself. Mituna sure wasn't a morning person.

- I didn't know you have a phone.

- I don't. I took it from my dad.

- Wow, impressive, but you don't look that clever.

Mituna huffed in irritation.

- Screw you, I can if I want too!

- Ok, ok calm down, but tell me this, how did you get my number in the first place.

Mituna snickered, causing Cronus to raise an eyebrow.

- I have my secret sources. - he said proudly. - So, you said you wanted to meet up?

Cronus glanced at Eridan, then walked out of the living room to the hallway.

- Yeah, I did say that.

- I have an idea! - he exclaimed with excitement. - The amusement park is open today and I haven't been there in ages!

Cronus scoffed.

- An amusement park? Seriously?

- Problem?

- Guess not. - chuckled Cronus. - I'll pick you up at 7 in that case, cool?

- Awesome! - said Mituna, then hung up abruptly.

Cronus for a moment stared at the wall in front of him with the cell phone still against his ear. His brain was still progressing what just happened. Did he just ask Mituna out for a date? He was close to bursting out in laughter, when Eridan approached him from behind and tugged on Cronus's jeans, almost earning a heart attack from his older brother.

- Jesus, Eridan don't sneak up on me like that!

- Was that Mituna?! - he asked excitedly grasping onto the blue denim with his small hands.

Cronus, scratching the back of his head he gave his brother a half smile before raising his head to the ceiling with eyes closed.

- Yes, it was. - he sighed.

- Is he coming over?!

- Unfortunately for you, he's not.

- Oh. - said Eridan looking down at his hands, then let go of his grip. - I wanted to see him again.

Cronus frowned thinking what to do, then an idea popped into his head, but it was one he didn't like very much.

- We're going to the amusement park- he started, then Eridan's energy came surging back to life.

- Can I come?! You said you owed me!

- Yes. - replied Cronus forfeiting to his brother's pleading eyes.

- Oh, boy! - he cried, then ran up the stairs to his room.

Cronus stood for a moment and sighed, hoping Mituna won't mind him bringing Eridan.

After the few hours have passed, the clock finally struck 6pm. Cronus just finished chugging down the 5 bottle of water, while working on the mechanics of his old Impala. He was hoping to take a nap during the day, but for some idiotic reason he felt stressed out. He never experienced this much tension before a get together, so why now? Even just thinking about made his stomach upset all over again. After finishing tinkering with headlights, the car was good to go. He wiped the sweat from his brow and triumphantly stared at his handy work. It had a new black paint job, with the side windows slightly tinted to get a mysterious feel, not to mention the brand new rims on the wheels. He was always good with machinery and it made him pretty damn proud, since he was weak in everything else. He grabbed the dark rag that was hanging on his shoulders and tossed it on the workbench. He finally started to feel calmer again. Not until he glanced at the clock. He ran back into the house to take a quick shower, but it longer than usual. He kept feeling uncomfortable with how his hair looked or was indecisive about which shirt to wear. He finally frowned at himself.

- What the fuck am I doing?!

He ended up grabbing the first shirt in mind, then his leather. Eridan was already ready a long time ago, since he was so exited he couldn't wait. Before leaving the house he grabbed, his wallet, a blanket for some apparent reason and his Marlboro lights. Cronus placed Eridan in the back seat, who was happily playing with the stuffed seahorse in his hands. Soon after, Cronus turned the key to bring the black Impala to life. The way she beautifully roared with elation made Cronus feel like a proud father of a powerful daughter. He treasured his car as much as his bike. It was bought with his own money he earned with blood, sweat and tears ever since his father refused to invest any more money. Not only that, but the fact he repaired it himself.

It was a while since he sat behind the wheel, so he drove the car with extreme caution. He looked up Mituna's address in his messages and in no time, they arrived. He carefully pulled up next to the sidewalk studying the house carefully. Cronus was curious about the home of the deranged teenager. It look quite simple and normal, not even giving a feeling that someone like Mituna lives there. The garden in front was well taken care of consisting of flowers with intense colors and green grass. The house itself was honey yellow with a white roof, picket fence and two rows of quite large windows. It had a suburban look to it. Cronus switched the car to a halt and turned towards Eridan.

- I'll be right back.

Eridan nodded in response going back to fiddling with his toy. Cronus sighed and slowly pulled himself away from the chair. He felt like taking out a cigarette at the moment, yet he didn't want to make a bad impression, even though Mituna saw him smoke many times. He walked up the stairs to enter the warmly decorated porch and gave a few loud knocks on the wooden door. With each passing second his heart quickened it's pace, making him feel uncomfortable. Finally the door swung open and small boy about Eridan's height and age stood in the doorway. He looked almost exactly like Mituna, yet the boy's hair was much shorter with choppy, short bangs and blue eyes. For a small boy he looked quite sophisticated giving off an aura of an old, tired man, which made Cronus shiver. He wasn't sure on how to approach the boy. He slowly knelled down to meat the boy's gaze, which slightly irritated the other.

- Hey, I'm Cronus. I'm here for Mituna. - he said calmly.

The boy started at Cronus in concentration, analyzing his features closely.

- Wait one moment. - he said, then walked away disappearing in a dark hallway.

After a second there was a crashing sound and a squeaky yelp coming from where the boy disappeared. Finally, Mituna appeared with his hands covered in different colors of paint, wearing a long apron on top of his clothes.

- Well, you are early.

- It's already 7, dipshit. I'm right on time. - smiled Cronus mischievously. - Nice get up.

Mituna blushed slightly, pulling of the apron in embarrassment.

- Shut up, I'm an artist. - he growled, then stomped away to his room to clean up.

Cronus chuckled to himself and leaned on the doorway.

- What a dork.

- You're a pretty weird guy. - said the voice of the smaller boy from before, who by some odd reason was suddenly standing in front of Cronus. How did he not notice him?

- Aren't we all? - he smiled.

- Not really. - frowned the boy unamused. - Do you like my brother?

- Wait, what?! - he raised his voice.

The question caused a huge scramble in Cronus's brain. Sure he felt a something here and something there, when Mituna would do something stupid or downright adorable, but the word ,,like" itself sounded a lot different and flustering out loud then in his head. But for a kid to read him so easily? Embarrassed is far to weak to explain how he felt at the moment. Luckily for him, Mituna came in the room at the right moment.

- Sollux, are you playing nice? - he said glaring at his brother.

Sollux snickered his hands in the pocket of his sweater.

- Of course I am. - he smiled towards the shaggy-haired teen, then ran up to his brother to hug him. - Have fun, Tuna.

Mituna laughed and grabbed his brother tossing him in the air, which made Cronus slightly nervous that he was going to drop him. After putting him down, he ruffled his messy hair.

- When I get back we're finishing our game. - he said, then walked out the door.

Before Cronus could follow him, Sollux tugged onto his jacket, making him freeze in his steps.

- Take care of my brother, or else we're going to have a problem.

No matter how creepy that sounded, Cronus knew he had stay collected. After all for Christ's sake he was the adult in this case.

- Trust me, kid. Nothing bad will get to him, I promise.

Sollux didn't say a word after that and closed the door behind him. Mituna was waiting for him on the lawn and walked up to the greaser.

- Was Sollux giving you a hard time? He can be a little shit to strangers sometimes.

- He was quite …. straight to the point.

- That's my bro!

Before Cronus unlocked the car, he reminded himself that there was something he forgot to give him a heads up about.

- Listen, Mituna. There's somebody else that's going to join us.

Mituna looked at him with surprise, but even more with worry.

- What? Who?

Once Cronus opened the passenger door a little, golden seahorse was flying in the air above the head of the small child. He noticed the two and smiled widely.

- Hi, Mituna!

Cronus sighed, tapping on the door waiting for Mituna's reaction.

- I hope you won't mind it sorta happened.

Mituna thought for a second, then turned to smile at him.

- Of course I don't! The more the merrier. - he said, then slid into the backseat next to Eridan.

Cronus closed the door behind him then entered the front seat to turn on the car. The two were already laughing and playing with the stuffed animals Eridan brought. Still, in some small way Cronus hoped Mituna would next next to him, but that was just a small detail. Soon they were driving their way down to the city to make it just in time for the opening of the park. The parking spaces were full, but he was lucky to find a spot not too far from the entrance. The worst part was the fact it was situated right underneath one of the most hardcore rides, so deep down he was hoping not to find vomit on his beloved car once they got back. The park was decorated in may balloons, banners and neon colored signs that were bound to blind a person if they stared at it too long. The crowd huge, since it was the grand opening of the new rides. The two childlike boys stood and stared in awe at the sight.

- Are you two going to stand there, or miss out on the action? - said Cronus laughing at them.

- I wanna go on the water slide! - exclaimed Eridan grabbing onto Mituna's sleeve.

- I wanna try the new bee ride! - yelled Mituna.

- Jesus Christ, can you calm down?! - shouted Cronus, while buying their tickets at the booth.

Even the check-in lady looked at them with an awkward expression. The moment they entered, all hell broke loose and the boys ran to the nearest attraction. Cronus groaned stuffing his hands into his pockets and following behind them.

- This was supposed to be a date. - he finally admitted to himself aloud.

- You're on a date? - said a voice behind him.

Cronus rapidly turned around to see Aranea staring at him questionably with her white rimmed glasses low on her nose.

- What are you doing here, Serket?

- My sister forced me to take her. She likes this kind of stuff. But I overheard you saying you're on a date, is that true? - she said with a curious glint in her eyes and a small smile on her round face.

Cronus started to slightly panic, since Aranea loved to gossip and was bound to spread the word if she ever found out he was even friends with Mituna.

- Yeah, no you misunderstood. I'm here with my little bro too and a friend … of his.

The girl smiled showing her glowing, white teeth that contrasted wonderfully with her dark hair.

- Eridan has a friend? I always though he was more antisocial?

- So did I. - remarked Cronus, but was sudden pushed to side by a smaller girl with long dark hair and large, Aviator like glasses on her pointy nose.

- Hey sis! I wanna play the duck shooting game! - he shouted with exhilaration.

Aranea grimaced at how happy her sister was at the thought of shooting ducks.

- Vriska, could you please be more polite?

The girl pouted, crossing her arms, then looked up at Cronus and gave him a toothy smile.

- Hi Cronus, is Eridan here?

From what Cronus knew of Aranea's sister, Vriska was that she was quite the competitive child and most prone to starting fights with the other children because of that. And the one child she loved to compete against was Eridan. Even though he didn't really enjoy interacting with kids his age, if he's thrown a challenge, he wouldn't back down till he wins. That's what Vriska liked most about him. It was a funny fact though. Eridan didn't really have friends at school, but Vriska was the only person he would talk to.

- Yeah, he's here, but currently with his new friend.

Vriska's eyes widened like two shiny marbles and was about to say something when a familiar voice called out to her.

- Vriska Serket! - yelled Eridan from across the park, pointing a slim finger at her with Mituna at his side holding onto a stuffed dolphin and exchanging glances with Cronus.

Vriska laughed triumphantly straightening her posture.

- Eridan Ampora! What a nice surprise! - she shouted at her opponent fixing the pirate cap on her head.

- No it's not! You ruined my sand castle at recess yesterday and I'm still angry!

- Ready for round two? - she asked, gesturing her finger to come closer.

Eridan out of anger and frustration started off in a quick dash towards the girl. Vriska laughed in amusement like a super villain in a cartoon and took off running in the opposite direction.

- Eridan!

- Vriska! - yelled Cronus and Aranea starting in shock at the two children, who disappeared into the jumping house.

- I'm so sorry, Cronus. When she get's like this it's hard to stop her.

- Same with Eridan. It's best to let them settle their differences. I just hope they won't start throwing punches at each other.

- I'll go keep an eye on them, it's the least I can do and I'm used to it. We'll keep in touch, ok?

- Thanks.

Aranea nodded then ran to the destination, leaving Cronus alone. He turned to Mituna, who was already standing next to him. How long has he been there?

- What happened to him?

- Nothing really. - said Cronus calmly looking in the distance. - It's this thing he has with this girl, Vriska, but it's not serious, so I'm cool with it.

- If he's happy, then I'm ok too. - smiled Mituna. - What do we do now?

- Well, what did we come here for? - asked Cronus in a sarcastic tone. - To have a good time.

Mituna laughed and suddenly grabbed Cronus by the hand, which was a huge surprise for the greaser.

- Let's go on a roller-coaster! - he shouted and pulled him to the first ride in line.

For a complete 2 hours they rode on almost every single ride in the park, to the point when the greasers stomach couldn't handle the adrenaline and caved into the nearest garbage can. Mituna had to promise him no more rides, that included fast motion and hanging upside down. But thanks to that, Cronus was able to win a ton of stuffed animals, which made Mituna the happiest person alive. After winning a shooting game, they decided to rest in an outside bar and debate on which ride to go on next. Cronus was sipping on a bottle of water, since he didn't trust his stomach with anything else at the moment.

- How about. - started Mituna, who was nibbling on a fresh batch of fries. - That one. - he said and gestured at a ride which involved taking a person high in the air and drop them at high speed.

Just looking at it made Cronus's guts cringe.

- Hell fucking no.

Mituna huffed in disappointment and continued munching on his meal. Cronus took another look around the place, when a certain traditional attraction caught his eye.

- What about that one. - he said with a smirk nodding his head towards a haunted house.

The shaggy-haired teen slowly turned his head with his eyes widened at the sight of the large mansion. Even the outside looked intimidating. Cronus noticed his hesitation and leaned in on the table.

- Or are you too much of a pussy?

- I'm not!

- Great! Let's go! - he said cheerfully and grabbed Mituna's wrist.

Once they stood in the entrance everything seemed a look more different then from afar. There were numerous skeletons hanging on the house, corpses nailed onto the walls and coffins on the ground with neon, green lights coming from the Victorian windows along with the mysterious, gray mist. Once Cronus came back with the tickets, he stopped to look at how Mituna was cowering in fear by just looking at the door.

- Ready to prove you're a man? - he said waving the tickets in his hand.

- You bet I am! - said Mituna in a slightly shaky voice.

The door automatically opened before them and they disappeared into the mist. Once they were inside the doors suddenly shut making Mituna jump slightly. The room seemed to shift itself and when Cronus turned around the door wasn't there anymore. Even that was creepy for him. There was only one hallway which meant that was the way to go. Slowly they started down the hallway with moans and screams that could be heard in the distance. There was a shadow that appeared in front of them showing a person holding a machete and chopping off his victims head with a maniacal laugh. Cronus then realized Mituna was holding his hand. Very tightly. He was freaking out and he found it cute. The floor began to shake and dark hands busted out from the walls making Mituna yelp and turn his head to Cronus's shoulder. The further they went the darker the hallway was. Sounds of ghosts and nails scratching against cold metal rang in their ears, but pushing them closer to each other. What seem like walked an eternity on top or fake corpses and cobwebs, Cronus noticed the room was getting smaller.

- Are you fucking kidding me? - he whispered.

- It was your idea. - said Mituna.

The room became pitch black as the last light bulb burned out with the walls slowly coming together.

- I can't fucking see a thing! - cried out Mituna, who lost grip of Cronus and was scratching at the walls.

- Calm down, your vision will get used to the dark.

- Where are you?!

- Follow my voice.

Soon he felt the trembling teen grasp onto his waist and bury his face into his chest. Cronus's first reaction was to ruffle his hair to calm him down. Not even a moment passed he felt the wall press against his back and Mituna felt the same. He raised his head in shock and groaned feeling Cronus's strong body slowly crushing him. Feeling the same discomfort, Cronus leaned his hands against the wall trying his best to give Mituna some comfort. Soon their sight got used to the dark and he was able to see Mituna's face a bit clearly. His senses seemed to be sharpened as well. He noticed how Mituna's eyes glistened from fear, felt his breath against his neck and body shiver, how his hands held onto him for comfort. Such small details awakened something inside him. He placed his hands on Mituna's face, rubbing his thumbs on his full cheeks listening closely to every sound that escaped his lips. He felt an urge to touch him more. To kiss him. Such strong feelings he's never felt for anyone before.

- It's ok, Mit. It's almost over. - he whispered, noticing Mituna avert his gaze that he kept locked onto his eyes.

Suddenly the floor beneath their feet disappeared and they feel onto a soft surface, which seemed to be hay. Cronus lifted himself, when the lights turned on showing where Mituna fell. Right under him. Mituna was propped on his arms and his face was so dangerously close, which made him blush madly from the sudden surprise. A door was opened to the outside and the both of them jumped to their feet to get out as quick as possible.

- That was the scariest fucking haunted house I've ever been in! - gasped Mituna, leaning his hands on his knees for support.

- Yeah, let's never do that again.

Both of them nodded to that and started walking away from the house. But Cronus couldn't forget about the situation they've just been in. He certainly felt something and was wondering if Mituna has too. He might never find out. But what he remembered was his eyes. They were staring so intensively at him, pulling him closer. Was it possible he wanted the same?

Cronus was awoken from his thoughts the moment he noticed Aranea wave at him from afar. One day he'll ask Mituna and this time he won't let him escape.


	8. Chapter 8: Don't Say No To It

After the very awkward experience in the haunted house, Cronus couldn't stop thinking about it, not even for a second. His thoughts wouldn't leave his dreams alone, showing him things he never once thought about doing to another guy in his life. Each time he'd wake up panting, sweating and wide eyed, feeling the need to shower himself in holy water for imagining such foul things about the innocent looking Mituna. What was worse … he was caught in the act.

- CRONUS AMPORA! - hollered a very angry Mr. Hussie, slamming a riding crop on the greaser's desk. He preferred the old fashioned methods of punishment and always had such items in hand.

Cronus jumped up from the sudden waking call with a huge, red blush to the tips of his ears. Realizing where he was, he buried his face in his hands and groaned from embarrassment.

- Just what are you so concentrated on? Cause I'm sure it's not my lecture.

- Jesus Christ. - whined Cronus, trying to calm down, but Mr. Hussie sure wasn't helping.

- I will not accept you dozing off during class! To the principle's office!

Cronus was about to get up, when he felt extreme discomfort in his southern regions. He froze in place, clenching his fists and staring at the black board. Everyone was looking at him, waiting eagerly for a reaction.

- You've got to be fucking kidding me. Thanks a lot, Satan. - he growled angrily in his mind.

- Did you hear me, Ampora?! Get your lazy ass up and march to the office this instant!

Cronus began to panic. He was sure, that once he stood up everyone would notice right away and that was the last thing he wanted. But he couldn't just stay put. Mr. Hussie was rapidly changing colors out of rage. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, suddenly a wet sponge collided against the teachers head. He turned around waving his riding crop yelling profanities and Cronus decided to utilize the situation and escape through the back door. Thank God, they were using a two door classroom. Avoiding people in the hallway, he ran into the bathroom, checked if anyone was there and locked himself in the farthest stall to deal with his problem. Embarrassed and angry he leaned his arm against the wall, clutching his forehead and with his other released his now raging boner. He never felt so humiliated in his life. How can just one person take over him so easily?! Mituna was his friend and he was furious at how he could think of him in such a disgraceful way. He's not a man, he's an animal. After finally calming down his body, he toke a few deep breaths to even out his heart rate and with a grimace left the scene of the crime. He was walking down the hall, when the bell rang and everyone in Mr. Hussie's class rushed out.

- Hey, you forgot something. - said a female behind him.

He turned around to see Meenah holding his backpack, staring at him suspiciously.

- That was quite the show back there. What happened?

He took the bag from her hand and averted his gaze.

- Nothing.

- Oh, I'm sure I wasn't nothing or else I wouldn't have had to save your ass.

- You did that? - he said with a surprised look.

- I'm not entirely a bitch without a soul you know. - she sighed. - I felt sorry for you; you looked really pitiful back there.

Cronus frowned with a slight snarl at her choice of words.

- Wow, how thoughtful of you. Thanks so fucking much. - he said and pushed her out of his way.

But that didn't work; Meenah grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him towards her angry face.

- What the fuck is your problem?! I'm trying to help you! You've been acting really weird lately.

- Nothing his wrong with me! Besides, I wasn't the one cheating on you behind your back!

Meenah let go of his hand glaring at him with fury.

- Don't you dare throw that back at me. - she said calmly, but with anger dripping from her words like venom. - You said you were ok with it, on the contrary, you were relieved! And it's your fault I cheated on you in the first place, cause you were a crappy boyfriend who only had sex to offer and never gave a damn about how I felt!

- Don't make yourself sound like a fucking saint! I know you were using me the whole time, cause nobody else wanted to be your fuck buddy and I'm not surprised! And my dick was to much for you, since you decided to eat pussy.

Without a second thought, Meenah clenched her fist and punched Cronus in the face with brute force; his nose making an uncomfortable, cracking sound.

- I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to suck dick yourself, since no girl wants to be around you anymore! - she shouted and stomped away, leaving Cronus standing like a statue.

He growled at the pain and quickly started walking towards the nurses office. But that's not what pissed him off the most; every word she said was the cold, hard truth.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Meenah avoided him with extreme caution. She even switched seats just to stay as far away from him as possible. Cronus knew he had to apologize to her, but he was too angry to even look at her. It was going to be a very long day.

Finally, the bell rang and he raced out of the class to avoid walking into Meenah. But once he entered the lunchroom, he noticed how all of his friends were staring at him with mixed feelings, including Meenah, who was very unhappy to see him. He knew once he walked over to the table everyone would want to know what's his deal and he preferred to stay away from the topic. So he toke out a cigarette and made his way to his only safe haven. As usual, Mituna was already there laying on the grass and nibbling on a sandwich. Without a word, Cronus sat down under the tree and lit up another smoke.

- What's the matter? - asked Mituna, staring at the sky.

- I'm in a bad mood, obviously. - said Cronus blankly.

Mituna sat up with a puzzled look, tossed his sandwich in his lunch-bag and sat in front of Cronus, who was slightly wide eyed from surprise.

- Somethings bothering you and it's making you sad and confused.

Cronus looked up at him not changing his expression, but slightly surprised at how Mituna knew how he felt just by looking at him.

- What makes you so sure. You don't know me well enough to actually know what my problem is.

Mituna leaned in closer, staring at him with concentration, making Cronus begin to feel slightly uncomfortable.

- I just know. I can see it in your eyes.

This was bad. With every second his want began to grow again. He inhaled the smoke from the cigarette and blew it back into Mituna's face, knowing he really dislikes the smell. But he didn't even flinch.

- Back off. - he said, close to losing his cool.

- Why? - asked Mituna leaning his chin on his knees, still watching Cronus closely.

Ever since the haunted house incident, Mituna would have random moments where he'd just sit and stare at Cronus when he wasn't watching. But Cronus always felt his gaze on him. Yet, he would turn back to normal after a short while, like if nothing happened. Only this time, he was doing it face to face and Cronus couldn't understand why.

- Before I do something stupid. - said Cronus with a slight smirk.

Mituna smirked himself, accepting the challenge.

- I'd like to see you try. - he said with an eager glint in his eyes.

Cronus was about to do the unthinkable, when the bell rang and woke him from his trance making him blink a few times out of the slight confusion. Mituna jumped up with excitement and laughed.

- I won the staring contest! - he yelled triumphantly.

Cronus smiled and got up smacking Mituna in the head, making the other frown at him.

- Who said it was a contest?

- Me, since I won! - he said raising his head with pride.

- Fine then, you won this round. But next time, I'm beating you!

- It's a deal! - he exclaimed, then his facial expression suddenly changed looking more content.

He smiled slightly, which made Cronus's heart heat up again.

- Did I make you feel better? - he asked, like a puppy waiting for it's reward.

Cronus smiled and ruffled his fluffy, hair making the other smile widely.

- You sure did. Thanks.

- That's what friends are for.

Those words made Cronus's heart sink a bit. Mituna could read his emotions, but not deep enough. In that moment, Cronus wished Mituna could notice how much he liked him, without having to say a word. Instead, he decided to be happy that at least Mituna trusted him as a friend, which still meant a lot to him.

- Yeah, and I swear you're my only friend right now. - said Cronus laughing at the sad truth.

- Me too. I feel like Tulip abandoned me, but I have you, so I'm ok. - he said, then walked away into the school.

* * *

Even though Cronus had a few more lessons left, he decided to ditch them and go home early. He felt sick and tired of looking at everybody and only wanted to punch each of them in the face, so to avoid any conflict home was his best option. Without hesitation, he walked into the parking lot in front of the school, got into his car and drove off. It was quite the depressing day. While driving down a familiar street, he looked to his right and noticed the abandoned park he used to go to when he was a kid. With his best friend. He stopped in the old parking lot and breathed in the fresh air that brought back old memories. He remembered his old pal, till this day. His short black hair, chocolate brown eyes and short, stumpy legs; Kankri Vantas. He was quite a complicated person and he was older than Cronus. Always lectured everyone and bossed them around, yet Cronus was the only person who didn't find him so annoying. Ever since Cronus saved him from almost getting beaten up to a pulp, their friendship grew and grew, until the day Kankri had to move away after his mother passed away. Since then, Cronus couldn't find the same connection in anyone else. He sat down on the nearby bench by their favorite spot. There was a little fountain surrounded by a large amount of thick trees and bushes and a big tree-house on one of the willow trees, which was their secret hideout. Out of curiosity, Cronus get up to check if the ladder was still there. He went around the tree, behind the dense bush and there it was. He decided to climb up to see if anything changed inside. Once he got up, he smiled to see everything was still the way it was. Their old graffiti on the walls and small items they toke from their houses to decorate it.

- I see you came back to the old place. - said a very familiar voice.

Cronus almost couldn't believe it. He turned around to see his old friend, all grown up. He almost didn't change at all.

- Kankri?!

- In the flesh.

Cronus almost pounced on him, giving him the biggest bro-hug.

- Ow, you can put me down now. Hey! Stop it! This is dangerous, Cronus. This tree house is very old you know and at any moment it can cave in and we both could get killed! I know you missed me and all, but get a grip. This is inappropriate and highly unnecessary. We are both grown men and such behavior is very childish.

Cronus sighed and put him down, before he could go any further.

- Man, I missed you so fucking much you have no idea.

- I know, you're not the only one silly. - said Kankri, playfully punching Cronus in the arm. - You really changed.

Cronus looked down, knowing where he was getting at. Ever since he didn't have anyone to watch his back, he turned into a rebel and looked like one too. He had tattoos on his arms, piercings in his ears, things that Kankri always despised.

- I'm guessing you're not happy with the results. - he shrugged.

- You smoke, take drugs and have sex without commitment? - said Kankri with a serious tone with arms crossed on his chest.

Cronus sucked in his cheeks with his hands in his pockets, avoiding Kankri's angry gaze. Kankri was the only person he felt obligated to obey.

- Yeah. - he said very slowly.

- Then I am disappointed with the results. - he said, but then sighed and relaxed his shoulders. - But I can't blame you, since you were always easily influenced and I wasn't there to keep an eye on you.

Cronus smiled, but Kankri raised a finger at him.

- That doesn't mean I'm not going to try to change this.

- Dude, trust me. It's not that bad anymore. But tell me what happened that you came back!

Kankri gestured Cronus to follow him and they walked into the main room.

- My dad knew I was unhappy in Florida. So once I finished high school, he decided that I could choose where to go for collage and I chose home. The only negative part is I had to leave Karkat behind and he's becoming quite a handful. But in the meantime I'm by myself.

- I'd never think he'd let you come back. Your dad really grew to hate this place, since your mom died.

- I was surprised too. Heck, I even hesitated on telling him. I even thought about leaving without telling him, but I can't do such a thing. I treasure the rules too much to disobey them. But enough about me, I'm curious on what you were up to this whole time.

Cronus turned his head away and nervously scratched the back of his neck. He wasn't sure if he could talk about Mituna with him, since they never touched the topic of romance. What's more, he wasn't sure how he would react.

- Cronus. - said Kankri with suspicion, studying his friend's emotions. - There's something troubling you.

- It's … it's a bit complicating.

- Come on. You know you can tell me anything. I won't judge you … right away. - he said, making Cronus chuckle.

- There's … this person—he began, perking Kankri's interest. - Which I was assigned to help at school, cause I got into a bit of trouble. And in the beginning it was a huge pain and a nuisance, but with time I grew fond of … that person … and possibly even developed feelings for … that person.

Kankri smiled widely and crossed his arms, which he always did when he's thinking.

- So, this person you say, you didn't like in the beginning because that person was a responsibility, but after a while that person became relevant to you. And for some particular reason, you don't want to say this person's name. Can you explain why?

- That's the thing. I'm not sure how you're going to take it. Nobody knows I like … this person.

- Spit it out. If you keep your problems cooped up inside, then it will only make you feel worse.

Cronus leaned his hands on the windowsill and took a deep breath.

- His name is Mituna. - he said quietly.

Cronus waited for the scolding, for the monolog and in humiliation he lowered his head waiting for the punishment for liking somebody he's not supposed to. Instead, Kankri looked out the open window and squinted his eyes.

- What's he like? - he said very calmly.

Cronus turned to look at him in shock, practically speechless, but very happy inside.

- Well. Describe him to me. - said Kankri with a smile.

Cronus looked out into the distance, imagining Mituna in front of him.

- He's very carefree, kind, childlike, a huge idiot sometimes but that's not his fault.

- Why do you say that? - asked Kankri.

- He's a little bit different. He had a bad accident, which resulted in some kind of brain trauma, so even though he's about my age, he has the mind of a little kid.

- I see. That's very unfortunate. But mostly people like that are more loving, caring.

- Yes, that's true. - agreed Cronus slowly nodding. - But what do you have to say?

Kankri turned around to lean on the wall next to the window and sighed loudly.

- What do I have to say? For the first time ever, I don't.

Cronus looked at him flabbergasted and frowned.

- What do you mean?

Kankri laughed and gave a reassuring smile towards his friend.

- I don't mean it in a bad way. I believe that if you like someone, then gender doesn't matter, only what the heart feels. There are some things in life that we have no control over and the only thing we can do is just go with breeze, they say. In this case, if you really like Mituna then you shouldn't feel ashamed, but just embrace it. And if you feel brave enough, confess your feelings to him. I'm positive he won't treat you in any unpleasant way, since he has a different mentality.

- Wow. - said Cronus. - You know this totally goes against your beliefs.

Kankri shrugged with pride.

- Sometimes it's ok to follow your heart and not what your brain has been taught. It might be just what you need, but don't know about.

- How poetic. - laughed Cronus. - But thanks, this means a lot. You have no idea how much.

- I can guess, since you had nobody else to talk to. I'm glad it was me.

- Man, what would I do without you.

- End up like that. - said Kankri gesturing at Cronus's features.

- Hilarious. - said Cronus sticking his tongue at Kankri and walking towards the ladder.

- So when do I get to meet him?

- What?! - said Cronus with shock, almost losing his balance on the ladder.

- I'm sure you heard me. - squinted Kankri.

- We're not even going out and you want to meet him?!

- So you do want to date him.

Cronus quickly ceased talking, turning red as a tomato and climbed down the ladder before he could get a heart attack and fall off. Once they were on the ground, Kankri laughed at his friend's reaction and slapped his back in a playful manner.

- Relax, I'm just teasing you. It's perfectly natural to feel a physical attraction towards the person we like not to mention sexual desire.

Cronus clenched his hair feeling intense embarrassment, suddenly remembering his humiliating situation in English class.

- Oh my God, Kankri shut up!

- Are you really that flustered about it? You must really like him.

- SHUT UP!

* * *

After the long talk with Kankri, Cronus couldn't wait till he got home. Once he walked into the house, Eridan assaulted him from behind the corner wanting to greet his brother, but falling flat on his face.

- Hey! - he whined looking angrily at his brother, who wasn't standing quite straight. - Cronus what's wrong?

- Nothing! Your bro just needs some alone time. DON'T COME UPSTAIRS UNTILL I TELL YOU TO. Ok? - he said running up the stairs.

Eridan watched him disappear in the hallway, then walked over to the TV. Cronus on the other hand had to deal with another hard on, no thanks to Kankri, who just refused to shut his mouth. But this time, instead of cowering in shame he decided to do it with a huge smile plastered on his face and embrace the truth with open arms.


End file.
